Study for ‘Susanna and the Elders’ c. 1926

Editor: This is William Roberts' study for ‘Susanna and the Elders.’ It looks like a preparatory sketch, all in charcoal. The figures are so stylized, almost robotic. What narrative or emotion do you think Roberts is trying to convey? Curator: It feels deliberately unsettling, doesn’t it? Roberts was interested in Cubism and the dehumanizing effects of modernity. The grid might also be a constraint, a prison for Susanna. What do you make of the Elders’ gestures? Editor: They look voyeuristic, definitely uncomfortable. I guess I hadn't really considered the modernist angle. Curator: Exactly! It's Roberts grappling with an old story through a very new lens. A new way to feel the old story.