Valle Crucis Abbey 

Editor: So, here we have William Pars' "Valle Crucis Abbey," made sometime in the late 1700s. The abbey ruins have such a lovely, somber feel. I'm curious, what do you see in this piece? Curator: It whispers of Romanticism, doesn't it? The sublime decay, nature reclaiming stone. Pars, bless his heart, captures that fashionable melancholy. The lone rider on horseback only amplifies the mood of reflection. Don't you feel it too? It's almost as if he wants us to ask ourselves about legacy and time. Editor: Absolutely! I guess the artist used the abbey as a symbol of how nothing lasts forever? Curator: Precisely! And beautifully executed in watercolor, I might add. It's a dance between structure and ruin. I'm happy we share an appreciation of this moment.