Honorable Elihu Root 1922

Curator: Ah, here's "Honorable Elihu Root" by Walter Tittle, a charcoal drawing from 1922. The print really captures a certain...weight, wouldn't you say? Editor: Immediately, there's this heavy gravity to it, yes. A sense of authority bordering on the austere. You get the feeling that gaze could bore right through any flimsy argument you put forth. Who was this Root fellow? Curator: Elihu Root was a titan of American politics at the turn of the century. Secretary of War, Secretary of State, Nobel Peace Prize winner. An architect of the American Empire, you could say. Editor: Right, the “architect” of American imperialism…That context certainly shifts the mood. The piece feels like an attempt at hagiography, doesn’t it? Is Tittle glorifying this legacy, or grappling with it? Curator: It’s interesting you pick up on that tension. Tittle, as an artist, seemed fascinated by power. There's a deliberate use of chiaroscuro here—the way the light falls creates sharp angles, emphasizes bone structure, and almost caricatures Root’s severe features. But at the same time, the detail! The subtle shading around the eyes, the texture of his suit… There's an intimacy that feels almost reverent. Editor: And yet, the etching feels incomplete, hovering on the paper like a half-formed thought. It underscores how such legacies—especially those built on imperial projects—are always in flux, subject to our reassessment and critique. We cannot escape the haunting weight of these legacies that inform contemporary sociopolitical theory, specifically from a feminist and sociological perspective. Curator: Precisely! And perhaps Tittle, intentionally or not, leaves space for that reassessment. It is like he allows Root’s persona to emerge only partially. Editor: It is a rather compelling conversation starter. Perhaps a question posed across a century—how will history remember you? Curator: Leaving us all wondering how we’ll be sketched into the grand narrative, I suppose. An artwork can leave you contemplating what kind of legacy you will leave in this world.