Two Heads; verso: Study of a Man Possibly 1846

Curator: Here we have "Two Heads; verso: Study of a Man" by Sanford Robinson Gifford. This double-page sketch is part of a larger sketchbook at the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: There's something so raw and immediate about these graphite sketches—you can almost feel the artist's hand moving across the page. Curator: Absolutely. Sketchbooks offer intimate insight into an artist's process. Gifford, known for his luminist landscapes, used these sketches to explore form and composition. It seems he was trying to capture the essence of human likeness here. Editor: I'm struck by the quality of the paper. It appears aged, almost brittle. What kind of graphite would he have been using? Was it locally sourced, or imported? These choices affect the line, the texture, the final image. Curator: Those are important material questions. And these sketches also reflect broader artistic trends of the period; we see a growing interest in portraying individual character through portraiture. Editor: It all comes down to the touch, doesn't it? The graphite, the paper, the hand... revealing the artist's own humanity. Curator: Indeed. A beautiful glimpse into Gifford’s artistic practice.