Hillscape; verso: Inscription from 1 John, chapter 5 19th-20th century

Editor: This is John Singer Sargent's "Hillscape," a pencil drawing. It's so sparse! Just a few lines defining the hills. How do you see this work, considering it's a drawing? Curator: It's about the very act of sketching, isn't it? Sargent's choice of pencil, the paper itself - cheap, perhaps? It points to the raw process, the labor of observing and recording. Was it a study for a larger piece, or an end product? Editor: That's interesting, I hadn't considered the labor aspect. Curator: Consider too, the social context: Sargent, from a wealthy family, making sketches, compared to a working-class landscape artist creating to sell. Different motivations, different materials accessible. Editor: That reframes it completely. Thank you! Curator: My pleasure. It's the material reality that gives the art its substance.