Profile Portrait of an Old Woman 19th-20th century

Curator: Look at this delicate rendering, "Profile Portrait of an Old Woman," by Joseph Smith. It is a tiny drawing. Editor: There's such quiet dignity in the woman's profile, a sense of resilience sketched with so few lines. Curator: I see a certain degree of social commentary here, too. Note the way the head covering speaks to a specific class, or perhaps ethnic identity. Editor: Indeed, it evokes images of mourning veils, or maybe the head coverings of religious orders. The symbolic weight is interesting. Curator: It certainly makes me reflect on what it meant to be a woman of a certain age and status in that era. Editor: I’m struck by how the simplicity of the image allows us to project our own narratives onto it.