Shall I Succeed? 1850

Curator: "Shall I Succeed?" by George Baxter. This print, housed here at the Harvard Art Museums, offers a glimpse into 19th-century printmaking techniques. Editor: There’s a dreamy, almost theatrical quality to this woman, poised before her mirror. She seems utterly absorbed, adrift in thought. Curator: Baxter patented an innovative color printing process. Note the texture, achieved through meticulous layering of oil colors. This speaks to the burgeoning market for decorative prints and accessible art. Editor: It feels like a stolen moment, an intimate and rather vulnerable one. It reminds me of a passage from a novel, full of anticipation and uncertainty. Curator: The composition, enclosed in that oval frame, really highlights the commodification of beauty and domesticity in this era. Editor: I'm left pondering the question in the title. Is she dressing for love? For societal approval? I suppose the success she seeks remains a mystery. Curator: A testament to how artistry met industrial ambition! Editor: Yes, and to how a single image can capture the quiet drama of a life.