Herald Square: Nocturne c. 1933

Clifford Addams made this etching, Herald Square: Nocturne, and just looking at it, I can imagine the scratching and wiping and biting of acid into the metal plate to make this image. It’s a real peek into a dark and busy city scene, full of people going about their business in the night. I wonder what Addams was thinking as he worked on this plate? Did he feel like he was capturing a real moment, or was he making something up, creating a mood? The inky blacks and grays give it this great somber feeling, and the way the lines are so loose and sketchy really brings the scene to life. There’s something about the way the buildings are looming in the background, and the little figures are huddled together in the foreground, that makes me think of other painters who were trying to capture the feeling of modern life, like the Ashcan School artists, or even Whistler with his nocturnes. Artists are always looking at each other, borrowing ideas, trying to one-up each other, and having a conversation across time.