[title not known] 

Curator: This is a pencil drawing by Charles Martin, dating from the 19th century, held here at the Tate. What's your initial take? Editor: A quiet, almost melancholy air. I'm struck by the simple lines, the texture of the paper itself feels very present. Curator: It's a study of a woman seated, head bowed, in what looks like deep contemplation. The lines are quite economic, aren't they? Editor: Yes, almost telegraphic. I'm curious about the making of it. Was this a quick sketch done on the fly, or a more considered studio work? What kind of pencils would he have used then? Curator: Perhaps both. Maybe he saw her, was moved, and the drawing became a meditation, a way to hold onto that moment, to know her unknowable thoughts. Editor: A woman turned into raw material, then transformed by the artist's hand. It makes you think about the value placed on labor and materials back then. Curator: It's a testament to how much emotion can be conveyed with so little, wouldn't you say? Editor: Absolutely, and it shows how even a seemingly simple drawing has layers of social and material history embedded within it.