Stockings c. 1936

Curator: This delicate pencil drawing is titled "Stockings," created around 1936 by William High. It’s quite understated, almost like a study. Editor: Yes, it feels quite muted and intimate. I find myself drawn to the pale blush color and the precise details in the stocking’s pattern work. It speaks of quiet domesticity, perhaps a very specific female identity of the era. Curator: The level of detail is certainly captivating. The patterned sections of the stockings seem almost to allude to cultural symbols – little zigzags that are almost tribal or Aztec in influence. Are we seeing the artist reflecting an interest in ethnography? Editor: Perhaps. Or perhaps we are seeing the fetishization of women through their clothing. During this period, advertising was rife with images emphasizing specific kinds of legwear as inherently glamorous, linked to aspiration and status. Consider the role nylon stockings later played. Curator: True. And legwear through history is powerfully coded: Consider how different materials from silk to sturdy wool conveyed societal information, from wealth to practicality, social position. The pattern itself—repeating chevrons – signifies stability, protection. Editor: I think we also can't ignore the implications around availability and access: a woman in nylon stockings during the later interwar period certainly conveys the cultural narratives linked to consumerism and fashion – especially given wartime regulations, which make it a powerful symbolic luxury object. Curator: I wonder if it represents the artist's perspective: A window onto the culture around them—an admiration for pattern and object elevated into an art study? High perhaps intends the repeating detail to remind of textile design’s deep, intertwined history. Editor: I think both our readings contribute value and meaning. This one singular item captures complex elements about the feminine aesthetic of the period. Curator: It’s curious that he's isolated these items, these stockings, making it feel almost like an icon, in a way. Editor: Indeed! A perfect image that reveals how so much more about history, identity, gender roles, fashion and aesthetics resides even in seemingly ordinary artifacts.