Partial Landscape with Saco River, New Hampshire (recto and verso) Possibly 1859

Curator: This is "Partial Landscape with Saco River, New Hampshire (recto and verso)" by Benjamin Champney. Champney, born in 1817, captured this sketch with pencil on paper. Editor: There's a ghostly quiet about it, isn't there? A whisper of a place, the light barely touching the mountains. Like a memory half-formed. Curator: Champney was a key figure in popularizing the White Mountains as a tourist destination, shaping perceptions of the American landscape. His art contributed to both the aesthetic and economic development of the region. Editor: And this quick sketch feels less like a monument and more like a personal encounter. A reminder that even grand landscapes start as simple observations. Curator: The verso, the blank page, serves as a reminder of unseen stories, of untold artistic journeys. Editor: It leaves room for our own imagination to fill in the blanks, doesn't it? Maybe that's the real landscape Champney gifted us. Curator: A space for interpretation, reflecting the evolving narratives we project onto nature. Editor: Exactly. It makes me want to grab my own sketchbook.