Giverny Hillside 

Curator: Standing before us is “Giverny Hillside,” a captivating landscape work attributed to Lilla Cabot Perry. It embodies many characteristics of impressionistic painting, doesn’t it? Editor: Absolutely. My first impression is one of raw texture. You can almost feel the wind rippling through that golden grass. There’s something about the density of the paint application that really emphasizes the materiality of the landscape itself. Curator: Perry, of course, spent considerable time in Giverny, and the availability of these scenes as subject matter undeniably played a role in her artistic trajectory. We see that play with materiality manifesting itself throughout her career after the time spent there. Editor: So the location wasn't just a backdrop, it was actively shaping her artistic process. I’m curious about the physicality of working en plein air to create these types of painting, because how much did transporting easels, paints and canvases shape Perry’s engagement with the natural landscape? Curator: Precisely. And let’s not forget that while we appreciate the aesthetic quality of Impressionism now, it was quite revolutionary at the time. Perry actively sought recognition from academic institutions and by the dominant artistic discourses, seeking to integrate that plein-air, almost defiant technique. Editor: True. There's a kind of social commentary, intentionally or not, embedded in her embrace of a method perceived as radical in relation to the norms of art academies during that era. The choice of that golden hue—was it dictated by the realities of the natural scene or perhaps an articulation of a conscious style choice? Curator: A bit of both, I suspect! She adapted her methods to echo the scenes available, reflecting both artistic integrity and shrewd navigation of the artistic circles of her time. Editor: So it becomes about the artistic process – how the artist negotiates their place within broader movements, adapting both practice and subject matter, in order to not only express something unique about the place depicted, but something very unique about their place within the very infrastructure of the art world. Fascinating. Curator: Indeed. Seeing it through that lens helps us grasp the painting as not merely a scene, but a complex cultural artifact, reflecting the landscape of both Giverny and the art world it occupied. Editor: Exactly, so rather than fixating solely on the visual impression, perhaps we should consider what the materials, the social structures, and even the means of production, tells us about Perry’s ambitions and contributions within that moment in history. Curator: A fitting thought with which to depart. Editor: Indeed.