Lincoln's Inn Fields 1905

Editor: This is Joseph Pennell's "Lincoln's Inn Fields," an etching with no specific date, at the Harvard Art Museums. It has a quiet, almost melancholic feel. What do you see in it? Curator: I see a commentary on the urban experience. Pennell, influenced by Whistler, often depicted modern cities. How does the framing by the trees affect your reading of the architecture in the background? Editor: It feels like the trees are guarding it or maybe obscuring it from a rapidly changing world. Curator: Precisely! Perhaps Pennell is making a statement about the tension between nature and the built environment, reflecting anxieties about industrialization and the preservation of historical spaces. Editor: That's a really interesting perspective. I hadn’t thought about it that way. Curator: Considering art within its social context always reveals new layers of meaning.