Frances Hodgkins c. 1917

Curator: This intriguing watercolor is titled "Frances Hodgkins," created by Sir Cedric Morris. Its dimensions are relatively modest, about 242 by 162 millimeters. Editor: It gives me this sense of introverted drama, like someone intensely immersed in their own world. Is it the book? Or that hypnotizing wallpaper? Curator: Indeed. The patterned backdrop creates a spatial tension. Notice how Morris uses the flat picture plane to almost flatten the figure. Editor: It’s as if he’s collapsing internal and external spaces. That strange, almost sickly mauve adds to that collapsing feeling, no? I wonder if Frances liked mauve. Curator: The restricted palette, precisely controlled, gives a structural underpinning to the work, almost like a stage set where identity and environment merge. Editor: It’s a painting about being observed while observing, isn’t it? Curator: I’d say it’s less about observation and more about structural relationships. Editor: It is, of course. But still, something deeply human about this room. Thank you for pointing the nuances out to me.