Heads of Two Children c. 19th century

Curator: This is William Sharp’s, “Heads of Two Children” a delicate lithograph held at the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: It's ghostly! Like a faded memory, those wispy curls, those huge, sad eyes... haunting, in a way. Curator: Indeed. Sharp, active in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, was known for his engravings that captured the spirit of his subjects. These children, though, are rendered with such fragility. Editor: Almost angelic, wouldn't you say? The curls frame their faces like halos, and the softness... it speaks of innocence, and perhaps a touch of melancholy. Children as symbols of purity, naturally. Curator: The work echoes artistic conventions surrounding childhood, but it also captures something genuinely affecting. Those are powerful symbols, but the execution, the way the lithograph renders light and shadow, gives them a real presence. Editor: I suppose. Those eyes do follow you. A reminder of time passing and the preciousness of youth, maybe. Curator: Perhaps. An evocative piece that speaks to both universal themes and personal feeling. Editor: Definitely a conversation starter.