On view
Siddonian Recollections,
ca. 1785–90
As a theater director, I think about artistic process: from research to rehearsal to opening night. On some level, my process moves in the opposite direction as Romney’s. Theater moves from the page to the stage, whereas this sketch is an attempt to capture the expanse of a performance back to a singular frame. The “thing” that is the play is ephemeral and lives only in the memory of the spectator. So too does Sarah Siddons, as performer, live in Romney’s memory. In looking at this sketch, I see the ways in which all artists work in draft—in repetition and revision. It is complicated to locate a singular portrait of a woman whose work was live, embodied storytelling. It seems impossible to capture in still life an artist whose medium is motion—and yet, to be an artist is to strive.
Nicole A. Watson, Producing Artistic Director, Playwrights’ Center, Minneapolis, MN
More About This Object
Information
ca. 1785–90
Europe, England
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