Curatorial Narrative In the midst of the Roaring Twenties, Eric Rohman’s “Buttons” (1928) occupies a pivotal position within the Art Deco canon. This nascent style, still in its formative stages, is characterized by a soft brushwork that imbues the artwork with an air of subtlety and restraint. The architectural subject matter, replete with nautical motifs, speaks to the era’s fascination with modernity and technological progress. Rohman’s palette, a nuanced interplay between navy blue, white, and black, creates an atmosphere of weightlessness, as if the very fabric of space has been distilled into its most essential components.Upon enlargement to 44×61, “Buttons” reveals itself to be a masterclass in spatial rhythm and chromatic structure. The navy blue and white tones, now fully realized, engage in a delicate pas de deux that modulates the atmospheric weight of the composition. As the artwork assumes a commanding presence within a