Martin Birnbaum c. 20th century

Curator: This is Albert Edward Sterner's portrait of Martin Birnbaum. The medium looks like sanguine pencil on paper. It has a gentle and understated quality, doesn't it? Almost melancholic. Editor: It does. It also strikes me how immediate the drawing feels. Look at how Sterner uses the sanguine pencil; the hatching technique seems both purposeful and improvisational, which gives it a handmade quality. Curator: The pose and Sterner’s confident use of line really capture Birnbaum's intellectual nature. It reminds me of a sketch from life; the process becomes the story itself. Editor: Well, consider the market for portraiture at the time, and the value placed on quick sketches—it suggests the means of production wasn't meant to be hidden but celebrated. Curator: Maybe it's a window into the artist's process, or perhaps a little reminder that even great art begins with a humble sketch. Editor: Precisely. The materiality elevates the subject, Birnbaum, while also highlighting the labor involved in creating the image.