Blank page; verso: Three Small Landscapes (Kauterskill Clove?) 1860

Editor: This page, from Sanford Robinson Gifford’s sketchbook, features three landscape sketches, perhaps of Kauterskill Clove. The pencil work is delicate, almost ephemeral. What strikes me is the artist’s hand, the directness of the mark-making. What do you see here? Curator: Gifford’s sketches, especially considered as raw material, challenge our perception of art. It encourages us to consider artistic labor. The value lies not just in the completed landscape painting, but the artist’s engagement with the physical world through these rapid studies. How does this change our understanding of “art” versus “craft”? Editor: That’s a good point. It’s easy to overlook the work and materials that go into creating the final artwork. Curator: Exactly! And understanding that labor allows us to appreciate the full scope of artistic production.