Sailboat 1872

Editor: This drawing, "Sailboat" by John Singer Sargent, shows a group of figures aboard a small sailing vessel, rendered simply in pencil. I’m really struck by the raw, almost unfinished quality of the sketch. What catches your eye about this piece? Curator: For me, it is the evidence of labor, of the artist's hand and the laborers aboard. Notice the unadorned paper, the visible marks of the pencil, the sketched details on the ship's hull. It lays bare the means of production. What do you think this emphasis on process communicates about Sargent's view of leisure and labor? Editor: I guess it sort of democratizes the artistic process, doesn't it? It makes it feel more accessible somehow. Curator: Exactly. And by extension, it invites us to consider the social context of the scene, the lives of these figures on the boat, blurring the lines between high art and everyday experience. Editor: I never thought about it that way. Seeing the art making process in art is interesting.