Snowflakes Over Manhattan c. 1938 - 1939

William Sharp's print gives us a grey Manhattan winter scene. I imagine him carefully etching the plate, line by line. The texture in this print feels harsh, and there is a coldness that echoes through the figures of the workers plodding through the snow. Each one is hunched over, battling the elements. Look at how they are each holding shovels, maybe clearing paths, or digging out from a heavy snowstorm. There's a sense of quiet labor, a community digging themselves out together. Sharp has found a way to make a familiar winter scene feel monumental. It's like he is asking us to consider the relationship between human effort and the urban landscape. Maybe Sharp was thinking of the Ashcan School artists, capturing everyday life and the working class. There's a raw honesty here that feels timeless, like the city is a living thing that we're all a part of.