Baby Dress c. 1938

Editor: So, here we have Cecil Smith’s “Baby Dress,” a pencil drawing on paper from around 1938. It's deceptively simple. The longer I look, the more I notice how delicately rendered the fabric is. What strikes you most about it? Curator: The drawing itself, and the probable original garment, both speak to a very specific form of domestic labor, don't they? Someone painstakingly sewed and perhaps embroidered this dress, likely by hand, investing hours of work. Smith then dedicates time and material to document that work through drawing. We're seeing labor represented at multiple stages. Editor: I never considered that. The drawing as labor reflecting physical labor. Does the choice of pencil on paper also add to that reading? Curator: Precisely. Pencil, often considered a preliminary medium, highlights the process. It’s not like she chose oil paints attempting a perfect lifelike recreation, right? There’s an immediate and accessible quality inherent to pencil work, much like a homemade garment. And paper, a mass-produced, relatively inexpensive material, also speaks volumes. It levels the playing field, brings “high art” closer to everyday life and manufacture. Editor: So it’s a democratization of art making and documentation? Curator: It absolutely can be read that way. Consider the context of 1938; the Depression still lingering. Thriftiness and resourcefulness would have been incredibly valuable, reflected both in the dressmaking and the medium of the drawing. Editor: That makes so much sense. I initially saw the drawing as a straightforward representation, but understanding the labor involved completely shifts my perspective. Thank you! Curator: Likewise. It’s in examining those material choices that the artwork becomes really compelling.