Columbus and His Son c. 19th century

Curator: Edward Goodall created this piece, entitled "Columbus and His Son". It now resides here at the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: It's so tiny! Like a whisper of a grand historical narrative. I’m immediately struck by the contrast – this intimate moment rendered against an epic backdrop. Curator: The scale emphasizes how individual ambition intertwines with larger social forces, framing the man within the monumental architecture he sought to transcend. Editor: And yet, the haziness softens the blow. It feels more like a memory than a declaration. A father-son moment caught in amber, almost dreamlike. Curator: Indeed, the print offers a specific reading of colonialism through its depiction of the family unit against the imagined glory it once represented. Editor: It’s a poignant reminder of how history is carried through generations, sometimes in the faintest of sketches. Gives you pause, doesn’t it?