Gallery Talk: _On Location: Drawing the Outdoors_

This in-person gallery talk examines Sir John Frederick William Herschel’s use of the camera lucida to depict the Menai Suspension Bridge, an engineering landmark designed by Thomas Telford. The discussion considers how new technology and modern infrastructure became intertwined with Romantic-era artistic ideas, functioning respectively as an artistic method and a subject.

Led by Alec Aldrich, the talk takes place in connection with *On Location: Drawing the Outdoors*, an exhibition featuring drawings by J. M. W. Turner, John Constable, Gustave Courbet, Edouard Manet, Berthe Morisot, Paul Cézanne, Vincent van Gogh, and many others. The exhibition is on view from September 18, 2026, through January 17, 2027.

When: Tuesday, November 24, 2026

Showtimes: 12:30 p.m.–1:00 p.m.

Format: In person

Tickets: Free

Venue: Harvard Art Museums, 32 Quincy Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts

Led by: Alec Aldrich, Stanley H. Durwood Foundation Curatorial Fellow in the Division of European and American Art

Featured work: Herschel’s *No 566 Menai Suspension Bridge from the Beach on the Anglesea Side*, dated September 29, 1827, is a graphite drawing on off-white laid paper made with a camera lucida. It is held by the Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum.

How to join: Check in at the Visitor Services desk. Space is limited.

Accessibility: Visitors may request accommodations by contacting Visitor Services at am_register@harvard.edu or 617-495-9400.