Sunday, Southern U.S. 1930

Albert Alexander Smith made this etching called ‘Sunday, Southern U.S.’ sometime around 1930. Look at all that line work! I imagine Smith bent over a metal plate, carefully dragging a tool to create grooves which would hold the ink. I wonder what it was like for Smith to be there, watching this scene unfold. Did he sketch it first? Or was he working from memory, trying to capture the mood of a lazy Sunday? The man with the cane pointing his finger has this air of confidence, of being the life and soul of the party. I feel like I can almost hear his voice, his laughter. And notice the composition: the way the figures are arranged, some sitting, some standing, creating this dynamic rhythm across the scene. Smith is in conversation with artists like Daumier and Millet, who found beauty and dignity in the everyday lives of ordinary people. And aren’t we all just trying to do that, to see the extraordinary in the ordinary?