Away they flew over stock and stone, at such a pace that his hair whistled in the wind 1920

Curator: Let's dive into Arthur Rackham’s watercolor from 1920, quite an expressive piece titled, "Away they flew over stock and stone, at such a pace that his hair whistled in the wind.” The full title itself feels like the beginning of a story, doesn't it? Editor: It certainly does. And immediately, looking at this, I’m struck by its whimsical melancholy. It has this fairytale grimness, almost. The rendering of landscape appears fragile and airy—it looks as though made from the thinnest colored pencils. Curator: Rackham had this fantastic way of animating landscapes, especially with watercolor—and his draftsmanship really gave the work that whimsical effect you mentioned. See how the forms in nature appear to have characters. There are trees that reach and figures of foxes in the foreground. Editor: Absolutely! It's as though he perceived sentience in his environment, so attuned to process and production he might have observed labor within all materials. Look closely, and it’s evident even within his process that a deep interest in myth, fairytales, and narratives emerges. Is that the prince trapping the fox? How clever that he includes them in one frame! Curator: Exactly. I'd read the expression on the fox’s face as pure cunning…though now you make me wonder about other possibilities there! He loved injecting these ambiguities and details, particularly to underscore darker themes. It brings me back to those stories my grandmother used to read. They always contained that glimmer of unsettling fantasy. Editor: Yes, Rackham manages that balance so effectively. There’s this fine edge between cozy domestic craft and unsettling fairy tale imagery. Did he engage with or reflect upon the shifting socioeconomic concerns and increasing disillusionment of Britain after the first world war? Or did he primarily draw on those personal wells to provide content and materiality to these pieces? Curator: Both, probably. As in the fairy tales he rendered in this picture, the world outside clearly had an impact on Rackham and helped shape this enduring romantic quality. The work certainly transcends any sense of specific context to achieve a near-universal appeal, no? Editor: Indeed. So in a way, it is more accessible, the materials less important than how well Rackham weaves the context into an intricate production which has been accessible for generations! Curator: Wonderful to view his dream-world once again from new perspectives, and perhaps a call to connect to the original tales and materials. Editor: A great prompt for both thought and touch, couldn't have put it better myself!