Portrait of Consuelo, Duchess of Manchester (Consuelo Yznaga) 1907

Curator: Sargent's "Portrait of Consuelo, Duchess of Manchester," a watercolor, is simply luminous. Editor: It feels incredibly intimate, doesn't it? The way she's looking directly at us, and the soft washes of color, it's like catching a glimpse of a private moment. That crimson background seems to want to say something. Curator: The color certainly evokes royalty, but red is also a color of passion and sacrifice, it makes me think about her life as an American heiress marrying into the British aristocracy. Editor: Yes, pearls always indicate status, but I find her gaze slightly melancholic. It's as if she knows the weight that comes with the finery. Curator: It’s amazing how much Sargent conveys with so few strokes. A dash of paint, and suddenly you have a pearl necklace, the suggestion of lace. So few details, such a big story. Editor: It makes you wonder about all the unsaid words, the silent stories behind that composed face. A life painted in watercolors.