Life Boat c. 1942

Edward Hagedorn created this print, "Life Boat," sometime in the 20th century, using a monochromatic palette of blacks and whites. The image is dominated by bold marks and stark contrasts, it’s like the artist carved away at the darkness to reveal the scene. You can almost imagine the artist in the studio, tool in hand, digging deep into the plate, maybe feeling a bit like he was on that very boat himself! Hagedorn's marks create a palpable sense of urgency, a stormy night perhaps? You feel like you're right there, in the thick of it, with the waves crashing and the wind howling. It makes you wonder about the artist, how they responded to other prints, maybe some woodcuts from the German Expressionists. Artists are always talking to each other across time, aren't they? Sharing ideas, inspiring new ways of seeing and feeling the world. Each mark, each line, is a little piece of that conversation, isn't it?