Figure and Landscape Sketches 1872

Editor: This is John Singer Sargent’s "Figure and Landscape Sketches." It's a graphite drawing, and I'm struck by its casual intimacy—like a peek into everyday life. How do you read this work? Curator: It’s fascinating how Sargent captures the working class with such directness. The sketches of women carrying water, for example, speak to the labor often unseen and unacknowledged. Does this challenge the more glamorous portraits he's known for? Editor: I think it does! It reveals a social consciousness, maybe? Curator: Exactly. Sargent, often associated with the elite, here documents the realities of labor. It makes you wonder about the stories he chose to tell and the ones that were overlooked by the dominant narrative of his time. Editor: That gives me a lot to think about. Thanks! Curator: My pleasure. Art should make us question the status quo!