The Fortune Teller 1905

Curator: This is Thomas Wilmer Dewing's "The Fortune Teller," painted in 1905. The current location of this oil painting is listed as a private collection. Editor: There's a striking contrast between the two figures. The woman receiving the fortune feels active, gesturing with the cards, while the other seems lost in a dreamy contemplation, disconnected from the present moment. It feels… unfinished. Curator: Dewing often painted women in refined, interior settings, evoking an air of languid elegance characteristic of the Gilded Age. It’s easy to see echoes of Whistler’s aestheticism in Dewing’s art. They both wanted painting to move toward a greater sense of self expression in opposition to its more public, illustrative function at the time. Editor: Absolutely, but that "unfinished" quality reads very clearly in the brushwork too. Look at the blurring of forms, the layering of thin paint, almost like watercolor, but in oils. I bet it felt quite radical at the time, challenging established standards of how “complete” a painting needed to be. Curator: Precisely, though that challenges my ideas too. His patrons wanted decoration for their homes but also recognition for their aesthetic. So he gives them works like this which display the artistic refinement and discernment they value, reinforcing their social status. Editor: You can also tell a lot from Dewing's paint handling itself; that light glazing and broken brushwork speaks volumes. There are also areas, such as around the base of the fortune teller's skirt, where you can actually see the weave of the canvas, reminding us of the materiality behind the illusion. Curator: Interesting observation about the canvas peek, that underscores how his academic training shaped his work. The tension between high art and his interest in more basic craftsmanship really jumps out to me now. Editor: I feel I have more questions than answers now, questions which can prompt viewers to reconsider accepted standards of quality in late 19th, early 20th century painting. Curator: Me too. It speaks volumes to what art can reflect about society and its impact on culture and how an artist challenges those structures, whether or not those intentions align to my ideas!