Reticule c. 1936

Ann Gene Buckley made this ‘Reticule’ using watercolor and graphite on paper. Although the bag is the focus of the piece, perhaps of more interest is how the image complicates our understanding of gendered labor. Here, the cultural associations of embroidery - namely domesticity, femininity, and the private sphere - come into contact with institutional structures like museums and galleries, historically coded as masculine and therefore not for women. In this context, the humble bag takes on a new, and perhaps radical meaning. Buckley’s work provides a commentary on the social structures of her own time, reflecting the changing role of women in the 20th Century. By representing the reticule as a work of art, Buckley challenges the traditional hierarchies of artistic value, and questions the assumed dominance of masculinity in the art world. Historians might use archival resources such as exhibition catalogues, gallery records, and biographical information to contextualize Buckley’s work.