Digging for Bait 1877

Editor: This is Charles Wyllie's "Digging for Bait," oil on canvas. It feels very muted, almost dreamlike with all the reflections. What do you see in it? Curator: The figures call to mind Millet's "The Gleaners," but here, the communal act is less about survival and more about preparation. Bait represents potential, a link to sustenance but not sustenance itself. It suggests the cyclical nature of dependence on the sea. Editor: So, the act of digging becomes symbolic? Curator: Indeed. The figures, mirrored in the wet sand, become almost spectral, suggesting a timeless ritual, less about the individual labor and more about the collective memory tied to the sea. What feelings does that evoke? Editor: A sense of both hope and fragility. The sea gives, but it can also take away. Curator: Precisely. Wyllie captures that precarious balance beautifully.