Sketchbook: Washington and Oregon 1874

Editor: This is Sanford Robinson Gifford's "Sketchbook: Washington and Oregon." It seems to be just the cover of the sketchbook, which looks like a simple, textured cloth. What can we learn from just the materiality of this object? Curator: Precisely! Consider the textile, likely mass-produced even in Gifford’s time. The humble materials speak volumes about the artist’s process. This wasn’t about opulent display, but about accessibility, portability, and the ready availability of materials for recording observations. What does this tell us about artistic labor, and the democratizing influence of industrialization? Editor: So, it’s less about the high art of the sketches inside, and more about the everyday nature of its production? Curator: Exactly. It challenges our assumptions about artistic creation, forcing us to consider the materials and the means of their production as integral to the work itself. It definitely gives me a fresh perspective! Editor: Me too.