Dear Sweetheart 1914

Harrison Fisher, who lived from 1877 to 1934, created "Dear Sweetheart," during a time when images of women were being carefully crafted and disseminated through magazines and popular illustrations. Here, we see a woman in repose, draped in a pink kimono, reading a letter. The scene is intimate, with a tea set and a bouquet of flowers nearby, suggesting a moment of leisure and contemplation. But what does it mean to see her in this state of relaxation and reflection? Fisher was known for his idealized portrayals of women, and this image fits into that mold. However, there's also a sense of the character being enveloped in a dreamlike state. The kimono, an object of fascination in the West, adds an exotic, orientalist touch, yet it also speaks to the cross-cultural exchanges and appropriations of the time. In Fisher’s tender rendering of the woman, we might consider how identities are performed and perceived through the lens of art. The image is tender but it also makes me consider the emotional complexities embedded in the act of reading a letter from a loved one.