Tourist Camp 1936

William LeRoy Flint made this print called 'Tourist Camp', and immediately, I'm imagining Flint bent over his materials, teasing out these tiny little lines, a real labor of love. I am getting the sense of a bygone era, one of those Depression era campgrounds in America, with families and their cars and dogs. Everyone is dressed in their Sunday best, the way people used to travel. I wonder what kind of person William LeRoy Flint was, and what he was trying to tell us by choosing this subject matter? Was he one of these travellers himself? The line work really brings the scene to life. Look at the way he renders the figures, they look very realistic. Look at the dog, sniffing around, the wood stacked for the fire. I wonder how many states of this print he made. It’s a real snapshot of Americana. Artists are always in conversation, borrowing ideas from one another across time, inspiring each other’s creativity.