Curatorial notes
Curator: Look at the Collier's magazine cover "Automobile Number" by Edward Penfield, dating back to 1903. The bright orange coat against the grey backdrop instantly grabs you, doesn't it? Editor: It really does. I'm struck by this sense of nascent modernity trying to peek out from under these layers of... repression? Is that too strong? There’s something about the lady's slightly mournful eyes, that huge shapeless coat… Curator: Mournful? Interesting choice of word. The coat, to me, it speaks more of possibility than repression. It’s such a strong color, it reminds me of innovation itself breaking free. And, think about what the automobile represented back then, its significance as a cultural icon: individual freedom, technology… Editor: I agree the auto is freedom. The car looming behind the woman, however, still feels...awkward. It is so primitive; I am drawn instead to the orange coat, and the lady in it. Her presence is like an echo, right? Of figures in tapestries or the Pre-Raphaelites, a connection with earlier imagery, but adapted to a new, motorized reality. Curator: Oh, definitely an echo. Penfield was incredibly clever at building upon older archetypes but tweaking them to his era. The color choices aren't by accident either. That striking contrast we mentioned – it’s really evocative. The woman isn’t afraid. Editor: Yet there’s no real engagement. The car behind the woman is only a representation; perhaps of society more widely? Or is Penfield saying she isn't quite ready to fully step into this new era? Curator: Maybe not ready, maybe poised. It could be he captured a split-second between one age and the next. Editor: Hmmm... it is, in essence, that very brief second which lingers. The piece asks some great questions!