Jersey Hills 1923

George “Pop” Hart made this aquatint titled ‘Jersey Hills’ with a rich palette of ochre, umber, and cool blues. It feels like a late afternoon, and you can almost feel the dampness in the air. It’s kind of haunting, and I’m wondering what Hart was thinking about when he made this. Maybe he wanted to capture a quiet mood, to feel the light of the sun slipping behind the hills. I can imagine him carefully layering the aquatint, building up the tones to create a feeling of depth and atmosphere. It’s not just about showing us a place, but about making us feel something, too. There’s a lone figure in the foreground; a kind of ghost in the landscape. It’s like Edward Hopper, but a bit spookier. You know, artists have always borrowed from each other, consciously or unconsciously. We are all in an ongoing dialogue across time, building on each other’s ideas. And it is the way artists deal with ambiguity, uncertainty, and feeling that really makes things interesting.