High Force, or Hardrow 

Editor: Here we have D. Skeaf's watercolour, "High Force, or Hardrow." It depicts figures dwarfed by the sublime power of nature. What societal anxieties might this reflect? Curator: Absolutely. Consider the Romantic era's fascination with the sublime. Doesn't this rendering highlight anxieties about industrialization and humanity's place within a rapidly changing world? Are these figures spectators or active participants in the landscape? Editor: Spectators, definitely. The artist's youth might also inform this perspective. I hadn't considered the effect of industrialization so directly. Curator: Right, Skeaf died so young, but even a short life is lived in a society and an era. Let's think about class and landscape now. What do you think?