Bright Light at Russell's Corners 1946

George Ault’s rural nocturne, *Bright Light at Russell's Corners*, conjures a lonely, liminal place. He's laid down thin paint with precise strokes—a methodical technique that feels both controlled and quietly emotional. I imagine Ault, out there at night, squinting through the darkness. Did he plan this scene, or stumble upon it? I wonder what it was like to decide how to make it, starting with that overwhelming darkness, rendered so smoothly. The buildings in the background and the telephone pole could almost be stage props, and the eerie, diffused streetlight is like a special effect! The American Precisionists like Ault and Edward Hopper were in dialogue, and even though their styles are markedly different, they are similar in the feelings that they evoke. Ault has an almost hyperreal way of rendering the image that brings a strange, uncanny quality to the everyday. The conversation between artists stretches through time, each one taking cues, pushing back, or finding new paths to explore.