Bathers-in-the-Hudson 1941

Reginald Marsh made this etching, Bathers in the Hudson, using closely-hatched lines that create a frenetic energy. I can imagine him bent over a copper plate, wielding a sharp tool to make tiny marks, each one building up a vision of bodies in motion. It looks like a hot day! Everyone’s heading for the water, caught up in the moment. I wonder what Marsh was thinking as he made this? Was he trying to capture the feeling of summer, that wild, carefree abandon? Look at the way he’s used line to describe the forms, almost exaggerating their muscles and curves. There's a theatricality to the scene, like a stage set with figures in various states of undress and action. Marsh’s figures remind me of other artists like Isabel Bishop and Kenneth Hayes Miller, all of them taking inspiration from everyday life in New York. Artists are always looking, borrowing, and riffing off each other, aren’t they? It's all one big conversation, stretching across time, as we try to make sense of this crazy world.