Inscapes: Reflective Reponses to Works of Art

"What thoughts or feelings do these objects evoke for you?"

That was the question greeting visitors when they entered the Watson Galleries during Spring 2021. Throughout spring term, the Museums invited students to reflect on objects in the temporary exhibition Inscapes: Paintings by Evelyn Dawson. Their reflections were the start of an ongoing project to share visitor reactions to works on display in the Museums.

Inscapes ran from February 26 - July 2, 2021. It was part of the Museums’ mindfulness initiative, which was developed when students returned to campus after being remote because of the COVID 19 pandemic, and it supported the 20th anniversary of the Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program at Washington and Lee University. In partnership with wluLex, the Museums also offered visitors time for reflection and meditation through a pairing of paintings with music curated by students. These pairings are publicly accessible on the Museums website under "Past Exhibitions - Inscapes."

This online exhibit features written reflections  by students from a variety of disciplines on six paintings by Evelyn Dawson Wynn that she called "Inscapes." .