Two Landscapes; verso: Two Figures with Umbrellas 1852

Editor: Here we have Sanford Robinson Gifford’s "Two Landscapes; verso: Two Figures with Umbrellas." It's a graphite drawing, and I'm struck by the immediacy and the almost casual nature of the sketchbook format. What can you tell me about it? Curator: Looking at the sketchbook format, let's consider the artist's process. The graphite suggests a work intended for reproduction, perhaps informing larger paintings. What does the dual nature of the landscape, with figures on the verso, say about Gifford's relationship to the land and its inhabitants, in terms of labor and leisure? Editor: So, not just pretty scenery, but also a reflection on how people interact with the land. Curator: Precisely. These sketches represent the raw materials of image production. How do they challenge our traditional ideas of "high art" when we consider the artist's labor and the eventual consumption of landscape imagery? Editor: That's fascinating. I hadn't considered the economics of landscape art before. Curator: Seeing the materials and process helps us understand the social forces at play in even the most seemingly tranquil scenes.