Maxwellstreet (Chicago) c. 1940

William Sharp’s Maxwellstreet (Chicago), is an etching, probably made in the early twentieth century. It’s all about the mark-making here; the artist is clearly relishing the process of building up this image with tiny, precise lines. It reminds me of how I approach a painting sometimes, just feeling my way through the image one stroke at a time. Check out the sky! See how it transitions from light to dark? You can almost feel the grit of the street, the weight of the buildings. And then there are the faces in the foreground. They are rendered with such detail, such care. Each line seems to capture a lifetime of experience. The way they're clustered together, almost like a little crowd within the crowd, really draws me in. It makes me think of Whistler, with his moody, atmospheric prints of London. But there’s also a real sense of empathy here, a connection to the everyday lives of these people. It’s a reminder that art isn’t just about aesthetics, it’s about seeing and feeling and connecting with the world around us.