Hudson; and Claverack Creek 1866

Curator: What a dreamy little snapshot of 19th-century America. The work is titled "Hudson; and Claverack Creek," it was rendered in 1866 by Andrew Fisher Bunner. What strikes you about it initially? Editor: Serenity. Just sheer, unadulterated tranquility. Two studies in graphite or colored pencil, nestled one above the other on the same page. The upper image is an open, pastoral landscape, and then below it we have the gentle creek. Very peaceful vibes. Curator: Yes, the use of pencil really softens the entire composition. Notice the subtle tonal variations which adds incredible depth, even in what one could easily dismiss as a quick study. There’s an atmosphere Bunner manages to evoke through very precise hatching and layering. Editor: Atmosphere is key, isn't it? I keep thinking about memory and how the past feels. Pencil seems like the perfect medium to capture the ghostliness of memory. Do you think he was on-site sketching? It definitely has that immediacy, that plein-air vibe. Curator: Considering that Bunner belonged to the Hudson River School, it's almost certain these are sketches executed en plein air as was customary with artists from that movement. These wouldn’t have been produced in the studio initially. And yes, there is such an intimate relationship with the locale, isn't there? Landscape painting has always been about possessing, viewing, controlling. Even an unfinished study offers a means of understanding one's relationship with a landscape, the sublime, nature and all of its imposing beauty and power. Editor: I am fascinated by this slightly slanted trunk leaning into the creek, how its reflection distorts and blends with reality. A sort of visual metaphor for how perception itself is never quite "straight." Curator: Absolutely, it subtly destabilizes a scene which could have easily been merely pretty. This creates a sense of constant change and the ever-flowing and transformative nature of time and the natural world. Bunner makes us question permanence by injecting it with an honest assessment of impermanence. Editor: What a lovely way to reflect on a relatively quiet, understated work. I shall carry that idea of impermanence as a subtle yet powerful metaphor. Curator: As will I. I never grow tired of returning to this artist's ability to invite rumination and meditation through nature and memory.