Sketchbook ("1852 / Juniatta & Susquehanna"): Pennsylvania Landscapes 1852

Curator: This is Sanford Robinson Gifford's sketchbook from 1852, subtitled "Juniatta & Susquehanna: Pennsylvania Landscapes," currently held at the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: The worn edges and faded inscription give it an almost melancholic, nostalgic feel, don't you think? As if holding a fragment of lost time. Curator: Absolutely. Note the tactile quality of the cover, the rough texture suggesting the artist's direct engagement with the physical world, prepping it for mark making. Editor: The rivers themselves—the Juniata and Susquehanna—were powerful symbols in 19th-century America, representing both the sublime beauty and the untamed nature of the continent. Gifford seems to be engaging with that. Curator: Precisely. These sketches are not just visual records; they are artifacts of an aesthetic process, each line a testament to the artist's developing vision and the structural bones of his later paintings. Editor: Knowing this was his personal sketchbook adds a layer of intimacy. We're not just seeing landscapes, but glimpses into the artist's soul. Curator: Indeed. Examining the material object itself invites a deeper reflection on the interplay between art, memory, and place. Editor: I agree. It leaves one to contemplate how art marks time.