July - Mount Lafayette, N.H. n.d.

David Johnson made this landscape drawing of Mount Lafayette in New Hampshire. Dominating the scene is the mountain itself, an archetype of stability and permanence. Mountains have long symbolized spiritual ascent, a place of communion with the divine. Think of Mount Sinai, where Moses received the Ten Commandments. This act of seeking higher ground taps into a deep, collective desire for clarity and understanding. The trees and the winding river are an explicit symbol for the 'Tree of Life' and the 'River of Life', symbols that have appeared across cultures from ancient Mesopotamia to the Garden of Eden, evoking themes of growth, interconnectedness, and the eternal flow of existence. In the context of 19th-century America, such symbols resonated with the transcendentalist movement, emphasizing the inherent goodness of both people and nature. This landscape invites us to ponder our place within the grand tapestry of time, echoing the universal search for meaning and connection that has driven human expression for millennia.