Proofs of Bank of New York One Dollar Bill and Two Dollar Bill 1824 - 1837

Editor: Okay, so we’re looking at “Proofs of Bank of New York One Dollar Bill and Two Dollar Bill,” sometime between 1824 and 1837, by Asher Brown Durand. They’re drawings and engravings, proofs for prints, actually. I’m immediately struck by the, well, sweetness of them, those cherubic figures. What else do you see? Curator: Sweet, yes, a curated innocence meant to inspire trust, maybe? But I also see a nascent urbanity. Note the buildings depicted: solid, dependable architecture mirroring the bank’s supposed reliability. Aren't they lovely, the way he’s rendered the stone? Do you think there's something about money that needs beautifying to seem 'real' enough? Editor: Definitely! Making money feel trustworthy, legit... It's fascinating how they used these classic, almost Renaissance-like cherubs to vouch for the very modern concept of paper currency. What about the cityscape? I can’t quite place it. Curator: New York, naturally, since it’s the Bank of New York. Asher Durand, he wasn't just depicting any old buildings, he was anchoring the bills to a specific place, a burgeoning city. An early kind of branding, maybe? Giving value tangibility with the etching, and civic pride! Editor: Branding through art… That's a perspective I hadn’t considered! So it's not just about decoration, it's about building confidence in a system. Curator: Exactly! And perhaps about solidifying a national identity, coin by coin, or rather, bill by bill. What will it *buy* someone to hold on to that piece of paper and give it value? Editor: Food for thought... Thanks! Now I see way more than just 'sweetness' when I look at these. It feels like a mini-history lesson etched onto paper. Curator: And that's precisely where the beauty lies: history whispering through art, even on something as seemingly mundane as a dollar bill.