Newmarket: A Shot at a Hawk 1801

Editor: So this is "Newmarket: A Shot at a Hawk," an etching done in 1801 by James Bretherton. It feels almost like a political cartoon, quite satirical. What do you see in this piece, from your perspective? Curator: The etching's material conditions offer insight. Bretherton utilizes readily available, inexpensive materials – the etching process allowed for multiple impressions, thus reaching a wider audience. Consider also the implications of “Newmarket” as a site. Newmarket was renowned for horse racing. Are we looking at the dawn of consumerism, as leisure became commodified and accessible, though perhaps unequally so, across society? Editor: That's interesting. I was focusing more on the figures themselves and the details in the background, like "Catchpenny Alley". But I see what you mean. The fact that this could be reproduced and distributed matters. Curator: Exactly. The medium facilitated the message reaching a broader demographic. Think about the labor involved. How many impressions could Bretherton produce in a day? Was this his primary source of income? Were these images designed for consumption? Notice also the caricature style employed and think of the political context; Could such overt social commentary impact public policy or discourse, effectively critiquing established powers? Editor: I hadn't considered the economic side so much. That shifts my focus to Bretherton's role in a system of artistic production and consumption. What was his place in it, I wonder? Curator: Precisely. The piece is less about artistic genius, and more about a worker embedded in a particular socio-economic structure using accessible materials and production processes. Does thinking of it this way alter how you view it? Editor: Absolutely. I initially saw it as just a funny scene, but now it's revealing larger forces at play. Thanks, I'll definitely be viewing artwork with the materials and economics in mind going forward. Curator: A critical step toward unraveling a picture!