Peggy Gantt 1912

Herbert Adams made "Peggy Gantt" at an unknown date. The wooden frame surrounds the artwork, a brown-gold relief of a girl reading. I bet Adams spent hours coaxing out the form of Peggy, pressing and carving, removing material, and constantly adjusting it until he had it just right. I imagine he was probably trying to capture a fleeting moment of concentration, that inward focus we all know so well when we're lost in a good book. It’s that quiet intensity, rendered with such care, that really gets me. The texture, the shadows—they all work together to create a sense of depth and intimacy. The piece reminds me of some of the portrait medallions of the Renaissance, where artists were also playing with relief to capture a likeness. Artists are always picking up on each other’s cues like that. Adams is in conversation with a whole history of image-making here, isn't he? His little nod to the past? And we get to listen in.