Standing Soldier with Cup; verso: Partial Mountain Landscape 1864

Curator: This is Sanford Robinson Gifford's, "Standing Soldier with Cup", a pencil sketch from the mid-19th century. It also features a landscape on the back. Editor: It's all very pale, barely there. It's like a ghost of a memory, a soldier fading into the ether. Curator: Gifford was very interested in light and atmospheric perspective. I imagine the quickness of pencil allowed him to capture something fleeting. The verso landscape suggests he saw beauty even in wartime, perhaps? Editor: Pencil is interesting in itself, isn't it? Graphite mined, processed, encased in wood – think of the labor involved to produce a tool for a quick sketch. This humble instrument has a history. Curator: It reminds us that art-making is work. And that even a seemingly simple sketch can hold layers of meaning. It’s nice to be reminded of the humanity in art. Editor: Yes, layers of material and intent. A small portal into a bigger world, wouldn't you say?