Chatsworth [recto] c. 1831

David Cox created this delicate pencil drawing of Chatsworth, a stately home in Derbyshire, England. During Cox’s lifetime, the picturesque aesthetic captured the hearts of the British public and, as industrialization intensified, artists turned to the countryside, seeking refuge in what they imagined as a simpler way of life. However, these idealized landscapes often overlooked the harsh realities of rural poverty and the social hierarchies of ownership and class. Cox, who rose from humble beginnings, captured the grandeur of Chatsworth, while seemingly obscuring the labor and social structures that supported its existence. The drawing prompts reflection on whose stories are told and whose are omitted in our visual representations of history. It invites us to consider the complex relationship between beauty, power, and social justice.