Costume Accessory (Orange Blossoms) c. 1937

Editor: This is a watercolor titled *Costume Accessory (Orange Blossoms)* from around 1937, attributed to Barnes. I find its delicate rendering quite charming and a little melancholic. How would you interpret this work? Curator: Considering its time and presumed function as a costume accessory design, I see it as speaking to the fraught construction of femininity, perhaps referencing the objectification of women, as well as ideas around performativity, adornment, and how societal expectations shaped women’s identities. The choice of orange blossoms also resonates; they're symbols of purity and traditionally associated with weddings. Editor: Purity and weddings…so a kind of pressure to conform? Curator: Exactly. There's almost an implicit tension here between the delicate beauty and what orange blossoms represent. Are these fragile flowers a symbol of constraint, or are they a self-empowered performance of an accepted role? Whose gaze is at play here? Do you find the design embracing, restrictive, both? Editor: I suppose both... now that I consider it, I think that even its use as a 'costume accessory' makes me wonder, what type of occasion, or ‘role’ in society might it suggest or support? I am leaning now towards that subtle restriction idea. Curator: Right, and thinking about design in the decorative arts as it relates to class, privilege, and accessibility provides another lens through which we can consider such floral arrangements. These weren't necessarily available to everyone. So, in a sense, they also represent socio-economic disparities. Editor: That is very insightful. Thanks, it helps seeing this artwork beyond its sheer floral beauty. Curator: It's all about understanding how seemingly innocent or beautiful objects can hold complex narratives reflecting social and political dynamics.