Sketch for ‘Crossing Lancaster Sands’ 

Editor: This is David Cox's ‘Sketch for ‘Crossing Lancaster Sands’'. It's a small, delicate drawing, all browns and tans, and evokes a real sense of a journey. What strikes you about it? Curator: The sketch embodies the early 19th-century fascination with landscape and travel, particularly the sublime. Turner and Girtin also painted similar scenes, but what is Cox really trying to convey here? The journey itself, or something more? Editor: It's interesting that you mention other artists depicting similar scenes. How do you think the art world influenced Cox's work? Curator: Well, the art world, and the social world, were becoming more interested in representing 'everyday' life. Cox would have been well aware of the market for these images. Editor: That makes a lot of sense. Thanks for giving me some food for thought! Curator: My pleasure. It's fascinating to consider how artists like Cox responded to the developing cultural landscape.