Untitled (Office Workers) c. 1950

Carl M. Schultheiss made this office scene using an etching technique. Can you imagine the focus and patience it must have taken to create this intricate composition? It reminds me a little of Philip Guston’s later figurative works, where the everyday becomes a stage for something deeper. What might Schultheiss have been thinking about while making this piece? Maybe he was interested in the play of light and shadow, or perhaps he was captivated by the quiet drama of office life? See how the repetitive, cross-hatched lines build the image, capturing the texture of the office equipment and the weight of the paperwork. There’s a sense of rhythm created by these lines, almost like the hum of the machines themselves. For me, artworks like this remind us that artists are always in conversation, building on each other’s ideas and pushing the boundaries of what’s possible.