Challis Girl's Dress c. 1937

Max Fernekes made this drawing of a Challis Girl’s Dress, with what looks like watercolor or gouache, maybe, sometime in the 20th century. You know, looking at this, I feel Fernekes really scrutinized every inch of this dress, like a forensic exercise. I can almost feel him bending over this small garment, trying to tease out all the details. The repetitive pattern of the fabric, the careful gradation of color… It’s more than just a dress; it’s like a map of someone's attention. Did he have a kid? A niece maybe? What I find so interesting is how this painting of a dress becomes more than a picture of clothes. I think of the dresses of Laura Wheeler Waring, or even the collages of Romare Bearden which make the shapes of dresses. They all become portraits of their own kind. Artists are always in conversation, aren't they? Whether they know it or not. And it’s so interesting to see how those conversations shift and change over time.