Ox Bow Lake, New York 1851

Editor: This is Sanford Robinson Gifford's sketch of "Ox Bow Lake, New York." It's a delicate pencil drawing, and I’m struck by its quiet vastness. What layers do you see in this work? Curator: The 'quiet vastness' you mention speaks to the heart of the American project during Gifford's time. Manifest Destiny, the belief that white settlers were divinely entitled to the land, was actively reshaping the landscape and displacing Indigenous communities. This sketch, on the surface a serene vista, is deeply implicated in that narrative. Do you notice the subtle signs of deforestation in the foreground? How does this impact your reading? Editor: Yes, I see the tree stumps now. So the beautiful landscape is also marked by the impact of settlement? Curator: Precisely. Gifford's art invites us to consider the intertwined beauty and destruction inherent in the American landscape, and to question whose perspective is centered in these seemingly objective depictions. Editor: That gives me a lot to think about. Thanks!