Straw Bonnet c. 1939

Curator: This watercolor drawing, created around 1939, is titled "Straw Bonnet" and attributed to Ferdinand Badin. What are your first thoughts? Editor: A gentle curiosity comes to mind, it is like a relic. It appears ethereal against the stark white canvas, fragile with such delicacy in each layer. Curator: Absolutely. It’s intriguing how a utilitarian object, a bonnet designed for sun protection, can be rendered with such focus on detail and almost idealized. We have a chance here to consider the material construction and social function of headwear. Editor: Do you ever imagine what it must be like wearing one? Feeling shielded but also separated by the fine layers of protection? It's curious how items once very important to our daily lives are later observed behind glass or documented on paper, disconnected from utility but full of imagination. Curator: Indeed. Think of the labor involved in crafting the lace trim or the particular social context dictating who would wear such an elaborate bonnet, how it reflects economic status. This watercolor transforms an ordinary object into an emblem of labor, taste, and consumption. Editor: Right. And seeing the artist's rendering brings a deeper layer. There’s a beauty, but also a slight remove, a recording of history on parchment and preserved forever, as something worn for decades or one single glorious afternoon? Curator: I think it embodies a time capsule. It encapsulates not only a material artifact but also social history, gender roles, and class distinctions inherent within this specific style and period. Editor: To think, capturing the life that it did not even get to enjoy in reality, on display instead to trigger thoughts in this space, on display for eternity. Curator: It offers a very tactile reminder to examine and interpret our world and our personal interactions with artifacts and art from many different perspectives. Editor: Yes, now whenever I am outdoors, I'll contemplate what's covering our heads! There's a small joy.