House with Geese in Foreground; verso: Back of a Woman's Head 1846

Editor: This is Sanford Robinson Gifford's small graphite sketch, "House with Geese in Foreground; verso: Back of a Woman's Head," which seems to be a page in a sketchbook. The marks are so faint, almost ephemeral. What stands out to you? Curator: It's crucial to consider the socio-economic context here. This isn’t just a landscape; it’s a record of land ownership, architectural styles, and even the domestication of animals. What labor was involved in constructing that house, in maintaining the grounds? Who profits from its existence? Editor: That's a totally different way to look at it! I was just thinking about the geese. Curator: Indeed, it is a record of a specific transaction between man and nature. The labour is encoded in its graphite lines. We must read the sketch not as a neutral landscape, but as a material artifact imbued with social relations. Editor: I never considered how the artist's choices about what to depict could reveal so much. Thanks! Curator: My pleasure! It's all about understanding the means of production.