Landscape, California 19th-20th century

Curator: Before us is "Landscape, California" by Denman Waldo Ross, held at the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: It’s lovely! The soft washes of watercolor create a hazy, almost dreamlike scene. Curator: Indeed. Ross employs a limited palette, focusing on gradations of green and blue. This simplification of color lends itself to an investigation of form. Editor: I wonder if that simplification also reflects a desire to capture the particular quality of light in California at the time. How were artists depicting the landscape in opposition to industrialization? Curator: An interesting socio-political interpretation. Formally, observe how Ross uses the white of the paper to define the clouds, creating a sense of depth and atmospheric perspective. Editor: It is a compelling image, no matter how you slice it. Curator: Agreed. A deceptively simple yet complex study in composition.