Hobby Horse c. 1941

Editor: This is Wilbur Rice's "Hobby Horse," created around 1941 using watercolor and drawing techniques. I'm struck by how this common child's toy is rendered with such detail. How do you approach this particular work? Curator: What intrigues me most is the rendering of labor in creating childhood. Consider, watercolor as a *commodity* was becoming more readily available, reflecting shifts in material production and access to artistic tools for even amateur artists and the impact of social class on leisure. The detailed execution belies the ready availability of materials though, right? Editor: Yes, there’s almost a tension between the humble subject matter and the artist's skilled hand, as seen in the application of color. Curator: Exactly! Look closely at the textures – the way the watercolor suggests the fuzziness of the horse's coat, the shine of the saddle. How does this artistic "making" of a simple object alter our perception of play and childhood? Are we seeing labor memorialized here, or obscured? Editor: That's fascinating. So it is less about the horse itself and more about how the materials and effort contribute to its value and meaning. I guess I was drawn in more by its representational qualities before considering the layers of physical creation. Curator: Precisely. And what about the darker base on which the horse sits? Could it represent both the ground *and* the underlying capitalist machine? Does the consumer forget how it is actually produced? Food for thought. Editor: Absolutely. Seeing the 'Hobby Horse' as an object embedded within material processes and larger social themes, rather than simply as a quaint toy, changes everything. Thanks for pointing out these other layers! Curator: It just goes to show that the object and how we depict are more interesting and telling than may meet the eye!