Study for "The Christmas Week" 1863

Curator: I love the lightness of Henry Louis Stephens' "Study for 'The Christmas Week.'" It's a small watercolor, only about 11 by 7 centimeters, housed here at the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: It feels celebratory, a bit cheeky. The figures have such animated faces; you can almost hear the music and laughter. Curator: Absolutely. Stephens has captured such a sense of merriment. The garland of flowers worn by the dancing woman, for instance. Garlands symbolize celebration, of course, but they're also tied to rituals of renewal and the cyclical nature of time. Editor: And the way the figures in the background are only sketched in, almost like ghosts, makes the central couple pop—they become the focus of all the energy. Curator: Precisely. It's like they're stepping out of a dream, a memory perhaps. And the slightly off-kilter perspective adds to that feeling, doesn't it? Editor: It does. It's both captivating and unsettling, which for me, is what makes art truly sing. A real glimpse into a hidden moment.