Landscape including Mill, Stream, and Trees 1818 - 1821

Curator: This is Washington Allston's pen and ink drawing, "Landscape including Mill, Stream, and Trees," part of our collection here at the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: It feels almost dreamlike—ethereal and lightly sketched. There's a quiet stillness to its composition. Curator: Notice how the repetition of vertical strokes, especially in the trees and the mill's supports, creates a sense of rhythm and structure. The blank space below almost grounds the composition. Editor: Mills often represent industry and transformation. Here, the quiet, almost hidden mill suggests a deeper, perhaps more spiritual transformation taking place within the landscape. A sense of yearning? Curator: Interesting. I’m more drawn to the relationships between form and the use of negative space. Editor: Yes, well the symbolism certainly enriches the experience of viewing the work. Curator: Indeed. Allston’s structural choices remain compelling, regardless of one's personal symbolic interpretations.