Old Deal 1920

Henry Rushbury's etching, Old Deal, shows a scene of labor frozen in time. The ink is like a memory, faded but sharp. You know, it makes me think about how an artist makes decisions. I imagine Rushbury walking these streets, thinking about what to keep and what to leave out. There is so much hatching on the buildings, like he’s trying to capture every brick, and the workers are suggested with just a few lines. He really creates a sense of depth. It reminds me of Piranesi and some of the other etchers who were obsessed with architecture. They are having a conversation across time, through the ages, and through these marks. They were, and are, all trying to figure out how to make the world come alive on paper.