Newport Scene c. 1880s

Curator: Take a moment to feast your eyes on Edward Mitchell Bannister’s “Newport Scene,” dating back to the 1880s. It’s rendered with pencil and watercolor. Editor: It’s… understated, almost like a whispered memory. Those muted greys and browns, they’re doing a lot of heavy lifting. You can almost smell the salt in the air. Curator: Bannister was quite fond of painting en plein air. He wanted to capture nature’s essence directly. I can feel that connection to the immediate environment in his artwork. Editor: That immediacy is fascinating given his background, wouldn’t you agree? I am just struck by the level of skill employed using these humble materials. Curator: He certainly found a unique visual language, balancing realism and impressionistic touches. What’s particularly fascinating is his choice of vantage point, slightly elevated, focusing primarily on the rock formations instead of a broad vista. Editor: Right! Bannister emphasizes this incredibly layered rock. So he’s got to be thinking about this as raw geological material, too. I wonder if that means that the process he had in mind also reflected the manual labor associated with cutting stone. Curator: Possibly! And the watercolor helps highlight a hazy sky. It seems the intention was to render the quiet drama of the ocean. Editor: I am fascinated by that too because watercolors are deceptively complex and demand a careful balance. The visible texture suggests he may have built it up using layering and perhaps a dry brush technique that's particularly visible in those foreground rocks. It gives them such depth, don't you think? Curator: Absolutely. It all contributes to a sense of tranquility, perhaps even isolation. The light, though subtle, seems to carry a particular mood. Editor: Yes, "mood," exactly. A painting like this offers insight not just into Bannister’s artistic choices but into the cultural value placed on places like Newport during the late 19th century. Curator: Bannister created so much emotive storytelling here. There is such intimacy in it that, with my eyes closed, I could imagine feeling the slight moisture coming off the cliff. Editor: He does invite us to experience not just the surface of things but what exists below it. I feel an unexpected connection to place because of the sheer amount of processing the materials must have gone through, a kind of echo of human ingenuity!