Three Girls 1909

Editor: This is Donald Shaw MacLaughlan’s “Three Girls,” an etching from 1909 currently held at the Art Institute of Chicago. The lines create such soft shapes and subtle tonal variations. I find myself wondering about their relationship and where they might be. What can you tell me about this scene? Curator: I see echoes of allegorical representations of the Three Graces. Observe the subtle variations in posture, the differing directions of their gazes. It’s as though MacLaughlan invites us to ponder the symbolic roles these women embody: is it youth, beauty, joy? Editor: So you see a deliberate symbolic structure here? I had simply thought it a glimpse of everyday life. Curator: But even everyday life is laden with meaning. Look at their attire – the high-necked dresses, the belted waists. What does that signify? Editor: Well, that says something about social mores in the early 20th century… restrained elegance? Curator: Precisely! Restraint, decorum, aspiration. And look closely – one figure stands apart, a solitary vertical against the horizontal ease of the seated women. Editor: She's the only one standing! Perhaps that suggests a journey, or an aspiration beyond the present moment? Curator: An aspiration, yes! Etchings such as these often capture not just a scene, but an encoded sentiment about that time. Editor: It’s fascinating how the visual symbols accumulate to create such a specific impression. Curator: Exactly. Through careful examination, we start unlocking what a scene meant, and what echoes of that remain.