River House 1938

Daniel Garber made this etching, titled ‘River House’, sometime in the first half of the twentieth century. It’s a scene of domesticity rendered with a fine network of lines, like tiny hairs that form an image. You can see Garber’s process in the hatching and cross-hatching, the density of which creates areas of light and dark. Look at how the tree dominates the composition. Its massive trunk and sprawling branches create a screen, partly obscuring the houses behind. The branches remind me of veins, or rivers themselves, echoing the title. This foreground tree is rendered with so many lines. It's almost as though the artist is trying to capture not just the shape of it, but also its rough texture, the feeling of its bark. There is a dialogue with artists like Whistler. Garber’s work invites us to slow down, to notice the beauty in the everyday, and to appreciate the artfulness in simplicity. It's not about grand statements, but quiet observations, proving that art is an ongoing conversation.