Little West 12th Street c. 1945 - 1946

William Sharp made this print, Little West 12th Street, using etching; the lines, etched into the metal, give a real sense of place. It's so process-oriented. You can feel the hand of the artist, and the atmospheric perspective. There's something about the texture created by the etching that gives the whole scene a kind of hazy, dreamlike quality. Notice the smoke curling up from the street—that's where the line work is really beautiful, creating a tangible sense of movement. It's kind of ghostly, like a memory or a fleeting moment caught in time. Sharp, like Whistler, another master printmaker, really knew how to create a mood through the medium, capturing the essence of a place and time. It’s a reminder that art isn’t about perfect representation, but rather about offering different ways of seeing and experiencing the world.