Sketchy Seascape; verso: Seated Soldier 1864

Editor: This is Sanford Robinson Gifford's Sketchy Seascape; verso: Seated Soldier. It appears to be a pencil drawing on paper. The sketchiness gives it a casual feel. What strikes you about this piece? Curator: Given Gifford's era, consider the ready availability of mass-produced paper and pencils. This wasn't always the case. The sketch's portability suggests a shift in artistic practice. What does this accessibility tell us about artmaking at the time? Editor: It makes me think about art becoming less formal, maybe more democratic? Curator: Precisely. The very materiality and process point to evolving relationships between artist, artwork, and audience. Think about how those relations have evolved since then. Editor: It’s amazing how much the materials themselves can reveal about an era.