Setting Sun at Sea 

Curator: Here we see "Setting Sun at Sea" by Thomas Moran. Moran was a key figure in the Hudson River School, and he truly mastered plein-air oil painting. Editor: There's an intensity to the light in this seascape; the churning, dark sea practically vibrates beneath that radiant sky. It’s moody but hopeful. Curator: The luminosity is definitely key here. Hudson River School artists believed in the spiritual and transcendental power of nature, and their art became instrumental in promoting and shaping the American landscape as exceptional. Moran, specifically, made several influential Western landscapes which promoted conservation, shaping how the West became imagined as parkland. Editor: But aren’t those kinds of depictions, ones focused on untouched land, also a sort of erasure? Like, whose landscape gets centered, and at whose expense? I'm interested in what the emphasis on these "sublime" visions leaves out of the historical picture. Who had access? Who was displaced or rendered invisible to construct that vision? Curator: Those are vital questions! Moran was also criticized, even in his own time, for romanticizing the American West and overstating the grandeur of places. This ties to ideas of Manifest Destiny and expansionism. Editor: Exactly. It makes you think about the kind of visual rhetoric that naturalizes colonialism. We're conditioned to interpret this scene as ‘beautiful’ and 'untouched,' but we should ask, who is ‘we’? Curator: Looking at the brushwork, one also wonders about that term ‘realism’. These artists weren't interested in strict topographical accuracy but rather in evoking a feeling, in inspiring awe. Editor: Which tells you a lot, right? These weren't documents, they were constructed experiences. And maybe appreciating their artistic skill, we should stay critical and keep those complications in mind. Curator: Indeed. Acknowledging the complex and often troubling relationships art has had to power, ownership, and national identity allows a richer viewing of Moran’s artistic vision. Editor: Right. This reminds me that visual beauty often comes at a cost. Let’s make that something we keep in mind every time we enjoy this spectacular view.