Sketch for Christmas Card 

Editor: This is Edwin Austin Abbey’s “Sketch for Christmas Card,” a watercolor and coloured pencil piece. The colours are quite vibrant, and it has this feeling of theatrical production. What do you see in this work? Curator: Well, considering this is a sketch for a Christmas card, it’s fascinating to think about the labour involved in its creation and dissemination. Was this meant for mass production or a limited circle? The material itself - watercolor and coloured pencil, suggests accessibility, yet the subject seems almost aristocratic. Editor: That’s interesting. I hadn’t thought about the actual labor that goes into creating Christmas cards. How the process interacts with the content is something I’ll try to look into in my next works! Curator: Precisely. And think about the societal message encoded in distributing this image of what appears to be courtly love and privilege during a holiday purportedly about universal values. Were these materials mass-produced? What type of labour would that require? Editor: Now, what exactly does "academic-art" means? It is referred as such in the metadata, I would like to understand the way in which this influenced its construction. Curator: Consider how the “academic-art” tradition values certain materials and techniques over others, upholding a hierarchy between fine art and craft. Does the use of seemingly 'humble' materials like watercolor challenge that very hierarchy here? Editor: So the choice of medium in a sketch for something as commonplace as a Christmas card acts almost as a rebellion within that structure? Curator: Perhaps. It raises the question of who this card was intended for. Was it meant to circulate within academic circles, subtly commenting on its own values, or for a broader audience, thereby democratizing access to artistic production, challenging established artistic practices by blurring the boundaries between fine art and design? Editor: That framing really changes my perception of the piece. Thanks for showing me that even something small, can offer so many material layers for consideration! Curator: My pleasure. Remember, the art isn’t only in the image, but also in the means of its making and circulation.