Doll - "Hepzabah" c. 1937

Eugene Croe created "Doll - 'Hepzabah'," a watercolor and graphite on paper. We know Croe was active during a time of shifting cultural norms around gender and identity, and this piece resonates with those themes. Hepzabah, with her carefully styled hair and frilly lace, embodies a certain ideal of femininity. Yet, there's also a sense of confinement in her doll-like presentation, a feeling that she is made to represent an idea of beauty and virtue, and not herself. Croe seems to be playing with these tensions, inviting us to reflect on the ways in which women were both celebrated and constrained by societal expectations. "Doll - 'Hepzabah'," stands as a quiet commentary on the complexities of womanhood, raising questions about identity, representation, and the ever-present gaze that shapes our perceptions.