Beach Scene, Quincy Shore Drive, Boston, Massachusetts 19th-20th century

Editor: This is Denman Waldo Ross's "Beach Scene, Quincy Shore Drive, Boston, Massachusetts," a drawing at the Harvard Art Museums. It feels spontaneous and planned at the same time, with the grid overlaid. What do you see in this piece? Curator: The grid, precisely, is telling. It speaks to a search for underlying order, a visual scaffolding. Are the figures contained by it, or do they transcend it? Consider the timeless symbolism of the beach—a liminal space, a place of transition and play. Editor: I see that now, the beach as a meeting place between worlds. So the grid provides a sense of control over something inherently fluid? Curator: Precisely. It's a dance between structure and freedom, resonating with enduring human attempts to grasp the ephemeral nature of existence. What do you make of the grouping of figures on the left? Editor: I hadn’t considered that specifically. Maybe their closeness signifies shared experience within the larger, more open beach setting. Thanks for helping me see that!