[title not known] 

Editor: This untitled pencil drawing by Elizabeth Rigby from the 19th century is strikingly simple. The subject’s clothing seems important to the composition. What can you tell me about this work? Curator: Well, consider the materiality. Pencil on paper-- accessible, everyday. But this accessibility belies its social function. Portraiture, even in sketch form, signifies status. How might the subject's tailored coat reflect Victorian ideals of industry and respectability? Editor: It looks like a well-made coat. Do you think the drawing is also commenting on the fashion or textile industries of the time? Curator: Precisely! It prompts us to think about the labor involved, the consumption habits of the Victorian elite, and how those are represented through something as seemingly simple as a sketch. Editor: That's a completely different way of looking at it than I expected. I learned a lot. Curator: And I found a new appreciation for the drawing's layers of meaning through its simple materials.