Study for ‘Water Wings’ c. 1938

Curator: This preparatory study, rendered by William Roberts, is titled "Study for 'Water Wings.'" Editor: Immediately, the grid overlaid on these figures gives the piece a sense of controlled chaos, doesn't it? Like bodies struggling against imposed order. Curator: Precisely. Consider the symbolism of water—its association with cleansing, rebirth, but also danger. These bathers, almost Cubist in their depiction, reflect a generation grappling with change after the war. Editor: I see the Cubist influence in the flattened planes and the reduction of the human form to geometric shapes. The limited tonal range adds to the feeling of austerity. Curator: Austerity indeed. But think about public baths in this era, places where social classes mingled, a kind of collective vulnerability on display. That is what I find compelling. Editor: It's a fascinating collision, the vulnerability you mention and the geometric abstraction, creating a tension that really holds the eye.