Traitor's Gate, Tower of London c. 19th century

Curator: Edward Goodall's rendering of the Traitor's Gate at the Tower of London, part of the Harvard Art Museums collection, presents a powerful intersection of political power and human suffering. Editor: Oh, my! It looks ghostly, doesn't it? Like a memory fading, or a secret half-told. Curator: Indeed. The gate itself served as a somber entrance for prisoners, a visual marker of eroded rights and unjust imprisonment. Think of Anne Boleyn or Sir Thomas More, arriving by water to meet their fate. Editor: Wow! It feels almost unbearable, knowing the stories soaked into those stones. I guess sometimes art whispers loudest about what's been silenced. Curator: Exactly, and by acknowledging this history, we engage with ongoing struggles for justice, for those whose voices are still being oppressed. Editor: It’s a tiny drawing with huge implications, reminding us, even in its quiet way, to never look away.