Study for the Samaritan at the Inn Door 19th-20th century

Curator: This drawing, "Study for the Samaritan at the Inn Door" by Charles Haslewood Shannon, depicts three figures intertwined in what feels like a moment of intense emotion. Editor: It feels like struggle and exhaustion rendered in graphite and what looks like colored chalk on paper – you can see the layering, the very physical act of building up the forms. Curator: Exactly, notice how Shannon uses line and shadow to create a sense of weight and vulnerability. It’s like these figures are caught between worlds, suspended in a moment of grace or perhaps despair. Editor: The grey paper allows the drawing to come forward, the materiality almost mimics the grit and grime that these workers would have to contend with daily, this study for an oil painting elevates the worker. Curator: It does, doesn’t it? There’s a beauty in the rawness, a certain truth that transcends the simple depiction of the human form. Editor: I agree, it's a compelling reminder of the lives embedded in Shannon’s work, and the labor inherent in making art itself.