Harvard Hall 1944

Curator: Thomas Willoughby Nason created this wood engraving of Harvard Hall, using a block measuring roughly 8 by 6 centimeters. Editor: Gosh, it feels both grand and claustrophobic at the same time. All those bricks and the tower reaching up... Curator: Right, the print's material limitations—the use of wood, a relatively inexpensive medium—speak to Nason's intent to make art accessible, sidestepping traditional painting. Editor: And that tight composition, it’s like the building is almost exhaling history and ambition right at you. Like a memory insisting to be told. Curator: Indeed, and Nason’s labor-intensive engraving mirrors the slow, deliberate process of institutional knowledge production. Editor: It really makes you feel like you are there. Curator: So, from material conditions to emotional resonance, this little print contains multitudes. Editor: Precisely! It really got me thinking about my college years.