Interior: Fireplace wall 1825 - 1900

John Gregory Crace made this watercolor and graphite drawing titled, Interior: Fireplace Wall, dating back to the 19th Century. Crace was a British interior decorator known for his elaborate designs for aristocratic homes and public buildings during the Victorian era. The drawing presents a symmetrical arrangement, typical of formal Victorian interiors. The color palette is muted, dominated by creams and soft pinks, accented with touches of blue and gold. There are strong class connotations to the space. In this period, elaborate interior designs were a means for the upper classes to display their wealth and status. While the drawing does not explicitly engage with issues of gender or race, the design of such spaces often relegated women to domestic roles, and were made possible by the exploitation of labor and resources from colonized lands. The fireplace, a focal point of the room, symbolizes warmth and domesticity, but also hints at the power dynamics inherent in Victorian society. The emptiness of the room evokes a sense of quietude.