Partial Landscape with Saco River, New Hampshire (recto and verso) Possibly 1859

Editor: This is "Partial Landscape with Saco River, New Hampshire" by Benjamin Champney. It’s a pencil sketch, quite small, almost like a fleeting thought captured on paper. I find it incredibly serene. What captures your attention in this seemingly simple landscape? Curator: It’s interesting you call it serene. To me, it’s more about potential. Champney, a key figure in White Mountain School art, wasn't just drawing what was, but what *could be*. It's a whisper of a grander vision. Editor: A vision? Curator: Absolutely! It's less a finished piece and more a visual note. Think of it as the artist's shorthand for a feeling. Maybe even a memory of a place. Editor: So, it's not just about the river, but about the possibilities within that scene? Curator: Exactly! It invites us to complete the picture in our minds, to add our own layers of emotion and experience. Editor: That's beautiful. I'll never look at a sketch the same way again. Curator: That's the magic of art, isn't it? It reveals something new each time we look.