South Kent Cross Roads 1931

Robert Hogg Nisbet created the print, *South Kent Cross Roads*, using etching, a technique where acid is used to corrode the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio. The artist was a member of the Old Lyme Art Colony, a hub for American Impressionists who often painted landscapes en plein air. As we look at this scene of the South Kent crossroads, it is hard to miss the intrusion of industrial elements, such as the telephone poles which cut across the idyllic landscape. Nisbet’s print invokes an elegiac quality, capturing a fleeting moment as modernity encroaches on rural life. The print invites us to consider the changing face of America and the tensions between nature and industry. It speaks to our own anxieties about progress and preservation, asking us to reflect on what we gain and what we lose in the relentless march of time.