Male Portrait Head 1902

Editor: This is Denman Waldo Ross’s "Male Portrait Head," a pencil drawing. There is something immediate about the sketchiness and the intimacy of the subject. What strikes you about it? Curator: I notice first the inscription: "Drawing for values from a photograph." This tells us much about Ross's process. How does the use of photography, a new medium at the time, impact the labor involved and the perceived value of the artwork itself? Editor: So, it challenges the traditional idea of art as a product of direct observation? Curator: Precisely. It asks us to consider the changing relationship between art, technology, and the artist's hand. What does it mean to create an image using a photograph as an intermediary step? This challenges traditional notions of artistic skill. Editor: That really shifts how I see it, thinking about the means of production. Curator: Exactly! It’s not just about the man in the portrait, but the dialogue between different forms of image-making and their value.