Man's Canyons 1936

Samuel L. Margolies made this etching, Man’s Canyons, and you can just tell he enjoyed the deep blacks, the way they contrast and give shape to the light in this city view. The way the dense shading makes the buildings feel like they're rising up, it’s like he’s playing with our perspective. Look at the lines, they're all so precise. It makes me think about printmaking as this really physical, almost architectural process, like building something from the ground up. The texture gives it such a tactile quality. There's something about this image that reminds me of Piranesi's etchings of ancient ruins, but instead of Rome, it's New York, a city remade. This print feels like a love letter to human ambition, capturing both the majesty and the weight of urban life.