Squeak Toy Kitten c. 1938

Curator: So, here we have "Squeak Toy Kitten," a colored pencil drawing from around 1938 by Frank McEntee. Editor: It’s…peculiar. At first glance, almost unsettling. It's the sort of piece that pulls you in with a hesitant curiosity, like finding a forgotten trinket in an attic. Curator: Peculiar is a good word. The drawing presents this very simple, even childish subject—a toy kitten. But there’s something undeniably off-kilter about its execution. What symbols jump out at you? Editor: Well, the most striking thing is the aggressive redness around its mouth and the toy it's holding; almost feels violent, definitely unsettling the childhood theme. The redness calls to mind images of carnivals, clowns and then, well…horror. Curator: It's true—it looks almost menacing, right? Like a character from a slightly twisted fairy tale. I can't help but wonder what kind of cultural context created this almost sardonic portrayal. Editor: Perhaps the toy itself embodies a memory—either collective or personal, a blend of both joy and dread that society can associate with certain symbols over time. Think about how clowns shifted from purely joyful figures to something altogether darker and sinister over time. This toy does a similar shift. Curator: Do you feel there’s an element of social commentary, hidden beneath the surface of those rather blunt lines? Perhaps an allusion to childhood's lost innocence amidst those uneasy years before World War II? Editor: I definitely think McEntee infuses the work with elements of adult cynicism. We’ve stripped away the sugar coating from something innocent, laid bare its plastic, painted features, exposing…what? Loneliness? Artifice? Curator: Something like that, yes! There’s a quiet irony here that definitely gives this humble toy kitten a bigger story than one might think. Editor: It leaves me pondering that gap between childhood’s naïve fantasies and reality's blunt, and sometimes troubling, truths. Not bad for a drawing of a cat toy!