Box at the Metropolitan 1934

Reginald Marsh made this etching, Box at the Metropolitan, and he really gets the frenzy of theater life across. It's all in the marks, quick, scratchy lines building up to these dense, dark areas. You can almost feel the energy of the crowd. The texture here is amazing. Look at the way he uses those little lines to create a sense of depth, especially in the ornate detailing of the box itself. Those swirls and patterns almost vibrate, don't they? And then, above, you have these figures rendered with a nervous energy. The woman with the cigarette seems to be the focal point of the composition - the smoke draws your eye up to her. Marsh really captures a moment, like a snapshot of New York society. You can see echoes of Daumier in his work, that same interest in the everyday, the slightly grotesque, the beautiful mess of human life. It’s not just about what’s there, but how it feels to be there, a feeling that's still alive today.