Seated Boy; verso: Buildings c. 1845 - 1847

Editor: Here we have "Seated Boy; verso: Buildings," a tiny graphite sketch by Sanford Robinson Gifford. The boy seems a bit lost in thought. What do you see in this sketch? Curator: It feels like a fleeting moment captured, doesn't it? Gifford's sketchbooks were his portable memory palaces. I imagine him quickly jotting down what caught his eye. Maybe this was a scene glimpsed during his travels. Do you think it captures the innocence of childhood, or something more? Editor: I think it’s more complex than pure innocence. There's a pensiveness that gives it depth. Curator: Exactly! It's the artist observing, the boy existing. We're all fleeting moments, aren't we? Editor: I hadn't considered it that way. Thanks!