Mountainous Landscape c. 19th century

Curator: Here we have Sanford Robinson Gifford’s “Mountainous Landscape,” a pencil sketch at the Harvard Art Museums. Gifford, born in 1823, was a key figure in the Hudson River School. Editor: It has a raw, immediate quality. The quick, faint lines give it a ghostly feeling, like a fleeting memory of a place. Curator: These sketches were likely studies for larger, more polished works. Artists like Gifford often used sketchbooks to capture impressions of light and form in nature. Editor: I see a dialogue between human perception and the imposing scale of the natural world, filtered through a distinctly masculine gaze that historically dominated landscape painting. Curator: Absolutely. The Hudson River School played a significant role in shaping American identity, often idealizing nature. Editor: I find myself wondering about the Indigenous peoples who inhabited these landscapes before colonization, whose perspectives were erased by this romanticized imagery. Curator: That’s a vital point to consider. It adds a necessary layer of complexity to our understanding of this seemingly simple sketch. Editor: It’s a powerful reminder that art is never truly neutral.