Panel from the Palace of Westminster 1842 - 1852

Editor: This carved wooden panel, made by Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin between 1842 and 1852, was part of the decorative scheme for the Palace of Westminster. There is a pleasing geometry about it. How should we approach interpreting this object? Curator: From a materialist perspective, let's consider this panel as evidence of the broader social and economic systems at play in Victorian England. We can move beyond simply admiring the gothic aesthetic and think critically about the means of its production. What kind of labor was required to produce it? Editor: So you are speaking about the craftsmen who actually carved the wood. I never really thought of it in that light before! Curator: Exactly. We might ask about the specific type of wood used, where it came from, and what that reveals about colonial networks of resource extraction. What does the design suggest to you about Pugin's intent for this design in the building itself? Editor: Well, the fact that this is a detail intended for a building makes me realize it may have been overlooked. Its status as "decorative art" kind of obscures the immense amount of labour involved. So it challenges, then, our assumptions about "high art." Curator: Precisely. It blurs the line. The machine was changing design, but here there is human labour attempting to keep with architectural values, despite historical and societal transition. Thinking about craft labor gives rise to understanding how design values changed then. Editor: Right. Looking at it as a product of labour helps uncover those often-hidden social histories embedded within it. Thanks, I see so much more to it now. Curator: Yes, that’s why studying the materials, techniques, and contexts of production offer important alternative entry points into art history. It provides new ways of examining historical change and cultural meanings.