Reflections in a Wooded Pool 

Editor: This watercolor piece is "Reflections in a Wooded Pool" by Robert Hills. It looks like a pretty standard landscape scene, calm and quiet. I'm curious – what catches your eye when you look at it? Curator: Well, what intrigues me most is the apparent ease of execution masking a real manipulation of material. The watercolour medium itself speaks to notions of accessibility and craft – a far cry from the perceived grandiosity of oil painting traditionally favored by the academies. Editor: So, you're interested in the watercolor itself, like, as a material choice? Curator: Exactly! Why watercolor? Was it readily available to Hills? Cheaper? Easier for him to transport to the location? Considering the historical moment and his place in it becomes fundamental. It raises the question, how did this particular artistic choice potentially democratize landscape art? This piece invites consideration of the materials readily available, the culture that enables a material's usage, and the audiences implicitly courted by such work. How does the materiality relate to his own social standing, for example? Editor: That’s interesting! It makes me think about who could afford to make art, or even own art, at that time. The materials definitely tell a story. I never really thought about watercolor that way. Curator: Indeed. By shifting the focus to materiality and production, we can unearth the social, economic, and cultural factors interwoven into even seemingly simple landscape depictions. Editor: It's like the artwork is also a historical artifact. That's something to keep in mind. Thanks!