Landscape with Water 1878

Curator: This is Benjamin Champney's "Landscape with Water," a pencil drawing held here at the Harvard Art Museums. It showcases a serene waterside scene. Editor: There’s a quietness to it; almost a sense of yearning, wouldn't you say? The monochromatic sketch captures a stillness rarely afforded to nature. Curator: Champney was a key figure in the White Mountain School of art. These artists romanticized the New England landscape. This piece speaks to that idealized view. Editor: True, but I also see the work through a lens of access and privilege. Who could afford to commune with nature? Whose stories were valued and depicted? Curator: That is a crucial consideration. Understanding the social context is paramount. We see the landscape through Champney’s, and by extension, through the lens of his time. Editor: It is a reminder that even seemingly idyllic landscapes are imbued with power dynamics and narratives that we must unpack. Curator: Indeed. It calls on us to explore the layers beneath the surface. Editor: To look, and look again.