Swamp Bank 

Edmond Casarella created this print, Swamp Bank, using a woodcut technique. Casarella came of age as an artist in the mid-20th century, a time when American art was increasingly engaged with abstraction. The turn to abstraction can be seen as a retreat from the social realism of the preceding decades. Here, the landscape is rendered as a series of interlocking shapes, with a limited color palette evoking a sense of depth and atmosphere. This approach reflects the formalist aesthetics that dominated art institutions and critical discourse at the time. It’s an image far removed from depictions of social life. To understand this work fully, it's helpful to consider the rise of institutions that promoted abstract art during this period, and the social dynamics behind them. Art historians might consult exhibition catalogs, critical essays, and artists' writings to reconstruct the cultural context in which this print was made.