Bombers c. 1940s

Samuel Donovan Swann made this print, "Bombers", by incising lines onto a metal plate, probably sometime in the 1940s. Looking at it, I imagine Swann carefully etching the sky and the clouds, trying to evoke a sense of depth and atmosphere. I think that the way he's rendered the bombers is fascinating. The closest one fills the frame like a looming presence, and it is rendered in incredible detail. I can feel the weight of the machines, but in such a delicate medium. Etching is a very fragile method, and the lines are so important. Maybe Swann was thinking about the power of technology and machinery and its place in the landscape. Maybe the work relates to other artists of his time, like Paul Nash, who depicted war scenes with a similar sense of awe and dread. Whatever his motivations, Swann invites us to contemplate the complex relationship between humanity, nature, and the tools we create.