Mornings with Judd (Second State) 1970

Peter Milton’s etching, Mornings with Judd, is rendered with the kind of exquisite detail you might expect from an Old Master. The soft, gray tones build to a ghostly scene where we see figures caught at different distances. I wonder if Peter Milton ever felt like he was building a stage set? All those figures are arranged in such a way that you know there's a story unfolding. I imagine him carefully placing each figure, each line, each shadow, to create a layered narrative. The children playing, the adults standing like statues, all frozen in time. I wonder if he thought of other artists while making this? The way Milton uses light and shadow, it's almost like he's painting with ink. It reminds me of Piranesi's architectural prints. And that subtle shift between light and dark! It's like he's inviting us to step into a world that's both familiar and strangely dreamlike.