Dreams and Windows: Contemplating Character at the William King Museum of Art

Almost 30 years ago, I had a dream which I still remember vividly. In the dream, I had a jovial conversation with a man who was seated, decked out in mid-century evening dress, and full of laughter. And when I woke, I knew exactly where I had encountered this man: in a portrait. Either that same day, or perhaps a few days before, I had visited a major exhibit of the works of artist James Gunn in the Scottish National Portrait Gallery in Edinburgh; and though I didn’t know who the sitter was (Sir William Darling, as it happens), this painting made such an impression that he came to life for me in the dream. I felt that I knew his demeanor, how he sounded, even how he moved. <img alt="" src="https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:644/0*VdPDuTalLPPsW3qL.jpg" style="height:945px; width:644px" /> Herbert James Gunn, Sir William Darling © estate of the artist. Photo credit: Museums & Galleries Edinburgh — City of Edinburgh Council Such is the power of portraiture. The William King Museum of Art’s current visiting exhibit, Contemplating Character, examines that power from multiple angles. There are many windows into a portrait: the life of the subject, the vision of the artist, the context of the time period, the circle of family and friends, the nature of fame, the breadth of human imagination, the remnant in loss and grief. These windows are opened for us by the exhibit’s curator, who also happens to be the exhibit’s collector, Robert Flynn Johnson. Arranging the portraits by theme or subject matter, Johnson opens these windows in his excellent labels, and cleverly lets the works converse with each other across sections. <a href="https://martindotterweich.medium.com/dreams-and-windows-contemplating-character-at-the-william-king-museum-of-art-fcef3ab1d9fd">Click Here</a>