Partial Landscape; verso: Partial Landscape with River 1859

Editor: This delicate double-page sketch, "Partial Landscape; verso: Partial Landscape with River" by Benjamin Champney, feels so ephemeral. It's like catching a fleeting thought. What strikes you about it? Curator: It’s a whisper of a place, isn't it? A memory barely held. I see Champney, out in the field, quickly capturing the essence of a scene. It's the bones of a landscape, the feeling more than the detail. It reminds me of childhood summers, hazy and undefined. What do you make of the emptiness on the left page? Editor: It feels like potential, like the scene is still unfolding. Maybe he intended to fill it in later? Curator: Or maybe the emptiness *is* the landscape? The vastness of sky, the quiet of untouched land. It’s a brave choice, leaving that space. It gives the sketch such a breath. Editor: I never thought of emptiness as a choice, but now I see how powerful it can be. Curator: Exactly! Art isn’t always about what’s there, but what isn’t.