The Wait 

Curator: I find my attention drawn to "The Wait", an oil painting by Thomas Blackshear. At first glance, I'm struck by a certain stillness despite the clear suggestion of a vast, sun-drenched landscape in the background. Editor: Yes, it's so serene and subtly unnerving at the same time. It feels as though the painting is steeped in a certain kind of temporal bubble. Curator: Blackshear here focuses on the visual vocabulary of history painting through realism. These are Buffalo Soldiers—African American soldiers of the U.S. Army, recognizable from the American flag. They are on horseback against the arid landscape of the American West. It prompts one to question about their purpose in this area. Editor: The landscape itself adds layers of symbolism. It’s beautiful, majestic even. Still, in contrast with the weight of history that these figures carry, it's kind of a mixed feeling. There is isolation and tension both—and the light contributes to the drama so well. The lighting almost isolates them—I feel that there may be danger somewhere nearby? Curator: Indeed, their representation evokes the cultural memory related to their role. The figures and horses stand against a somewhat panoramic backdrop, with all the symbolic associations related to the Old West as a narrative arena. It is all a constructed image that reflects something important from the collective. Editor: I was almost taken aback. It reminded me of historical landscape paintings like Frederic Church, in how the composition pulls you right into the frame—the soldiers almost have an ancient heroic appearance due to it. Curator: A kind of collective heroism. They almost operate like figures from a Classical frieze, made all the more poignant given the challenges and biases these soldiers were historically subjected to. Their representation challenges historical visual codes. Editor: That's exactly right! It's like history made anew. Thank you. I’m not sure I would have arrived there without you! Curator: It's been a pleasure teasing out the symbolism together.