Sheep; verso: Partial Landscape 1859

Curator: This drawing is attributed to Benjamin Champney, titled "Sheep; verso: Partial Landscape" and held at the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: There's a quiet, almost melancholic feel to this simple pencil sketch. It reminds me of a fleeting moment captured in a diary. Curator: Champney, a key figure in the White Mountain School, often sketched outdoors. We can consider his artistic labor through the lens of landscape’s changing social and economic values in the 19th century. Editor: The simplicity is striking. Look at how he uses line to convey the texture of the wool, the weight of the animals. Do you think this was preparatory for a larger work? Curator: Possibly. The artistic choice to depict farm animals also speaks to the broader socio-economic landscape of the time. Editor: I agree. This work reminds us that even simple sketches can reveal a larger web of relations between the land, its inhabitants, and the artist. Curator: Indeed, it makes us think about our own relationship with the environment and the cultural values embedded in art making. Editor: A deceptively simple sketch, with so much going on below the surface.