Buildings, Andermatt, Switzerland 19th-20th century

Curator: This is Denman Waldo Ross's work, "Buildings, Andermatt, Switzerland." The piece is housed here at the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: It’s quite charming. The colors are muted, almost dreamlike, evoking a sense of quiet isolation. Curator: Ross was deeply involved in the Arts and Crafts movement. The rendering of the Swiss buildings seems to emphasize the textures and the act of building itself, almost a meditation on labor. Editor: Yes, and how the buildings cluster together, nestled into the landscape speaks volumes about community, about creating shared space in a place like Switzerland. It suggests a history of adaptation to place. Curator: Absolutely. This work seems an invitation for the viewer to consider the materials, the lives lived within those walls, and how the artist chose to represent that through labor-intensive techniques. Editor: Indeed, it makes you reflect on the narrative of progress and preservation within these social structures. It’s about how the story of these buildings becomes the story of a place. Curator: A place shaped by, and shaping, its inhabitants. Editor: Precisely.