Portrait of David 1922

Editor: Here we have Denman Waldo Ross's "Portrait of David," a roughly 14x10 inch oil painting housed here at the Harvard Art Museums. It feels incredibly intimate, and almost melancholic. What do you see in this piece? Curator: It breathes, doesn't it? The loose brushstrokes, that almost feverish red against the cool flesh tones... It's as if Ross captured not just a likeness, but a fleeting emotional state. Almost a love letter to vulnerability. Editor: Vulnerability, that's a good way to describe it. I was caught by the pose, so exposed. Curator: Exactly! It's raw, isn't it? A moment of unguarded honesty. The lack of precise detail actually amplifies that feeling. Editor: I never thought of it that way. It does highlight a sense of rawness. Thanks! Curator: My pleasure. It's always refreshing to see things through someone else's eyes.