Arts and Crafts c. 1935

Alice Standish Buell made this etching, Arts and Crafts, using fine lines to create a sense of depth and texture. It feels like she's scratching into the surface, feeling her way around this courtyard. Look at the way she renders the stone floor; each line is carefully placed, but there's still a looseness, a freedom in the way they come together. I love how the dense hatching around the archway creates a dark, cavernous space that contrasts with the sunlit courtyard below. It reminds me of Piranesi, but with a softer, more intimate touch. And those plants! They’re almost exploding out of their pots, creating a sense of wildness within this structured space. The lines are so delicate, so precise, but there's also a kind of joy in the way they capture the exuberance of nature. Buell invites us to see the world in a different way, not as something fixed and static, but as a process of constant change and transformation.