Millbank 1861

Curator: Up next we have James McNeill Whistler’s "Millbank," a small etching currently residing at the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: It feels so fleeting, almost like a memory half-formed. The lines are sparse but suggest such a specific place... industrial, a little melancholic. Curator: Whistler was deeply interested in capturing the essence of modern life through its very means of production. Look at the intricate detailing on the docks compared to the hazy, distant buildings. Editor: The human figures seem almost incidental, dwarfed by the structures around them. It speaks to the relationship between labor and the environment, doesn’t it? Curator: Absolutely. Whistler uses the etching process itself—the acid eating away at the plate—as a metaphor for the forces shaping the landscape, the industry impacting the landscape. Editor: It makes you wonder about the working conditions, the lives lived along that riverbank, doesn't it? A very evocative piece for such a tiny scale. Curator: Yes, it’s quite incredible. It captures so much in a limited space.