Fishing Wharf 1949

Philip Latimer Dike made this lithograph, Fishing Wharf, using stone, grease, and acid—a real process! I see the dark strokes giving shape to the wharf and the roiling water below. Can you feel how the artist has labored to produce this image? It's almost as if I can see the artist, Dike, working the stone, pushing and pulling with all his weight, trying to capture the essence of the scene. The way he’s rendered the wood pilings—they’re practically vibrating with energy. I bet he was thinking about light, shadow, and the gritty reality of a working waterfront. You can really sense Dike’s personal connection to the subject matter here. I can imagine him standing on that very wharf, feeling the sea spray on his face, and trying to capture the scene's raw, visceral energy. It's like he’s inviting us to participate in the experience. It reminds me that artists are always drawing from and riffing off one another across time, inspiring new ways of seeing.