Art Conscious

While Gerard, a long-serving and beloved School of the Art Institute of Chicago professor, later gained notice for her abstract silverpoint drawings, in her early career she created amusing figurative prints, as seen here. This lithograph takes the perspective of a work of art addressing its audience: three women and an elderly figure of unclear gender gaze at the artwork with varying reactions. While the veiled woman peers with a condescending frown, the woman wearing glasses smiles pleasurably, and the woman wearing the cylindrical hat appears to struggle to see between the other two women. Ultimately, the emotional responses of the spectators betray their attempts to appear cultured and fashionable.