Tie-back c. 1939

Curator: Well, immediately, the color palette strikes me – so sepia, nearly monochromatic. There's a warmth, but it's also muted, faded like an old photograph. Editor: This drawing, entitled "Tie-back," was created around 1939 by Harry Jennings. It is a composition rendered using colored pencil and watercolor, exhibiting academic and decorative qualities. Curator: "Tie-back," an apt name given the function the depicted objects likely served. Each form echoes organic, almost botanical motifs. How fascinating to elevate the commonplace into objects worthy of rendering in such detail. It transforms utilitarian items into studies of form and light. Editor: Indeed. At this historical moment, these designs would’ve been enmeshed within conversations about consumerism and domesticity. In the context of the late 1930s, we might consider these luxurious designs in light of the Depression, revealing complex tensions in material culture. Curator: Note the subtle play of light across their surfaces. The artist uses a very fine network of cross-hatching, stippling – it's a very controlled touch to create texture and three-dimensionality on a very flat plane. It's realism with a decorative sensibility. Editor: Right, it seems a bit aspirational and reflective of their aesthetic and potential commercial values. One can also read a nationalistic angle into it – the ways botanical ornament presents idealized forms of nature. Curator: Good point. Despite the seemingly ordinary subject matter, there's a definite idealism, yes, as you say, reflecting the cultural values imbued within functional items. A microcosm of social identity rendered on paper. Editor: So, a modest, almost unassuming work at first glance, but when positioned historically it generates insights regarding art’s impact on consumer culture and domesticity. Curator: Absolutely. Analyzing its inherent pictorial elements in concert with cultural milieu illuminates so much that we overlook. A lovely dialogue we had together, reflecting upon Mr. Jenning's rendering here.