Study for a Border Design [recto] 1890 - 1897

This is Charles Sprague Pearce's "Study for a Border Design", an undated watercolor and graphite sketch on paper. Pearce, an American expatriate, spent much of his career in France, painting genre scenes, portraits, and murals. This study offers a glimpse into the aesthetic values of the late 19th century, a time when artists and designers often looked to historical and exotic sources for inspiration. The piece reflects an interest in decorative arts and design, disciplines that were gaining prominence as expressions of cultural identity and status. The border design, with its stylized floral motifs and geometric patterns, evokes the influence of both Asian and Islamic art, styles that were fashionable among European and American elites. Although this is a study, it has the feeling of a fragment, a remnant of an unknown whole. It embodies a moment when art, identity, and cultural exchange were deeply intertwined, reflecting both the promise and the complexity of a rapidly globalizing world.