Sheep Grazing c. 18th century

Curator: This is "Sheep Grazing," an etching by Samuel Howitt, who was born in 1756 and died in 1823. Editor: It feels like a daydream. All soft lines and huddled forms, like the landscape itself is sleepy. Curator: Howitt was known for his animal subjects. Sporting scenes and rural life were very popular with the British gentry at the time. Editor: There's a kind of charming chaos to it. A woolly, bleating, very real chaos. Curator: Yes, and the etching technique lends itself to this bucolic subject matter, don't you think? It gives it an unassuming quality. Editor: Absolutely, the simplicity is its strength. A pastoral glimpse, not a grand statement. It whispers of simpler times.