Frame of Hair Flowers c. 1938

Curator: This delicate artwork is titled "Frame of Hair Flowers." It's a watercolor and drawing on paper, believed to have been made around 1938 by Clyde L. Cheney. Editor: Wow. It’s so intricate. There's something hauntingly beautiful about it. Almost like a pressed flower arrangement preserved, but on paper. The reds and yellows are intense against all that ornate darkness around the central image. Curator: Exactly! Hair flowers were popular during the Victorian era as tokens of remembrance or mourning, crafted from the hair of loved ones, living or deceased. The hair symbolizes memory, attachment, even a physical piece of the person. Editor: Right, like holding onto something tangible, beyond just memories. I feel the Victorians, and those inspired by them, were really tapped into the weird poignancy of keepsakes, things that remind us of fleeting moments or departed folks. This piece, with its faded elegance, really emphasizes that fragility. I feel as though each piece represents somebody's loss or somebody’s legacy and that we could explore those meanings deeply if we looked into its history further. Curator: There is also the writing within the border that feels like an intimate inscription from a love letter. The choice to frame the verses is interesting – giving permanence to words meant to be kept, close and considered often. The symbols carry many layers. We could study the text to extract more symbolism for some time, I suspect. Editor: It almost looks like it was designed to go into a scrapbook or locket. A tangible piece of someone to hold close during travels or separation, do you agree? What resonates for me is that so much emotion is evoked on this miniature scale. Curator: It really condenses a world of feeling, doesn't it? It also makes you think about our changing relationships with mementos in the digital age. Editor: Precisely! A photograph or a status update—so instantaneous and ephemeral. There’s such a weight of intent, of slow, careful making embedded here that speaks so compellingly of devotion and connection. Curator: Indeed. "Frame of Hair Flowers" whispers of intimate histories carefully preserved, then faded, now open to a fresh reading of those complex histories and feelings. Editor: And a new lens through which to see our own ways of keeping those histories and our attachments close.