Spruce Tree and Cherry Mountain, New Hampshire

Editor: This is Charles William Hudson's "Spruce Tree and Cherry Mountain, New Hampshire," a watercolor landscape. The layers of trees and mountains create a sense of depth, but what strikes me is how the raw materials—pigment and paper—combine to evoke such a specific place. What do you see here? Curator: I see an interesting commentary on landscape painting as commodity. How does Hudson’s choice of watercolor, a medium often associated with amateur or decorative art, affect the value and perception of this scene? Is it elevated, or somehow diminished by its accessibility? Editor: That's interesting, I hadn't considered the class implications of the medium. Curator: Exactly. It makes you consider who this was made for, and how it might have been consumed. Editor: I see what you mean. Thinking about the materials changes my view of the entire work.