Pool Association 1938

Helen Alpiner Blumenstiel made this print, Pool Association, using fine hatching to build up tone. It's like she's knitting the image together, stitch by stitch. The surface is alive with tiny marks, a real testament to the labor of artmaking. Look closely at the way she renders the leaves, for example, some sharp and defined, others dissolving into shadow. There’s a tension between precision and looseness, control and chance. See how the trunk of the tree rises almost to the top edge of the print? Blumenstiel uses the direction of her lines to suggest the form of the tree with light hitting the left side. I see echoes of artists like Agnes Martin, who also found ways to make the grid expressive, not restrictive. This piece feels so gentle, it invites contemplation, and reminds us of the beauty that can be found in simplicity. It's a reminder that art is as much about the process as it is about the final product.