"[T]hough poems and pictures cannot by themselves save anyone—only people who care for each other face to face have the chance to do that—they can strengthen our resolve to agree to life.” That's Robert Adams, whose career retrospective, American Silence, is on view now at the National Gallery of Art, writing in 2005. For the show, I wrote an essay looking at the artist's body of environmental work and how, despite his own leanings as an advocate for sensible policies around logging and climate change, he eschews the label of "activist art," instead offering us something more poetic and personal.

This is the first of a three-part engagement with NGA, so stay tuned for what’s next.