Birkenhead Ironworks 1921

James McBey captured Birkenhead Ironworks with watercolor and ink in this, well, let's say the date's a bit of a mystery. The washes of diluted ink create a sense of space and light, especially in the sky, which feels vast and heavy with moisture. There's a real push-pull between the precision of the architectural details, quickly sketched, and the more atmospheric, almost blurry rendering of the surrounding environment. I'm drawn to the way the lines of the railway tracks converge, pulling you into the scene, right into the heart of the industrial activity. The blue tints on the ironworks themselves give a sense of monumentality. This reminds me a little bit of Whistler's industrial scenes along the Thames, but with a slightly rougher, more immediate feel. There's something about the way McBey embraces the messiness and ambiguity of the scene that feels very modern. It shows, once again, that art is more about asking questions than providing answers.