Allen Parker 1931

Curator: This is "Allen Parker", a pencil sketch by Denman Waldo Ross, currently held here at the Harvard Art Museums. What strikes you first? Editor: It feels almost like a blueprint of a person, doesn't it? Like a map trying to chart the landscape of a face. Curator: I find that quite apt. Ross was deeply invested in artistic theory, particularly in the principles of design and composition. You can see it in the underlying grid faintly visible in the sketch. Editor: Yes! It's like he’s building up the subject, piece by piece, with a very methodical approach. But somehow, that almost clinical method also reveals a vulnerability. Curator: Perhaps the honesty in the unfinished quality contributes to that. He leaves the underdrawing exposed, showing us the process of creation rather than a polished facade. Editor: It's a refreshing peek behind the curtain. Makes you consider the labor involved in translating a subject onto paper. Curator: Precisely. Ross invites us into his artistic process. A lovely, almost intimate gesture, wouldn't you agree? Editor: Absolutely. It makes you feel you are there when he is sketching.