Cast Iron Balcony Railing c. 1936

Arelia Arbo made this drawing of a "Cast Iron Balcony Railing" with pen and ink on paper. You can see the repetitive, geometric shapes and intricate details, the shadows and light she's built up with those fine strokes of ink. I'm thinking about what it might have been like to stand where she stood, looking at this ornate railing. The way she's meticulously rendered each curve and intersection, it's like she's trying to capture not just the physical structure, but also the feeling it evokes – the weight of history, the craftsmanship, maybe even the stories of the people who leaned against it, looking out. It’s a window into Arbo's world and mind. That continuous line, see how it loops and swirls? It’s like a dance, leading our eye across the surface and into the imagined space beyond.