Washington Square 1936

Mildred Emerson Williams made this lithograph, 'Washington Square', and it’s all about the gradations of tone she coaxes from the stone. You can see how the artist is thinking through the process, carefully, playfully building up these layers of grey. The whole surface has this velvety feel because of the way the ink sits on the paper. When you look closer, you notice how the details emerge from this soft haze. See the woman in the center, her dress and the shadow it casts: they are all these tiny, dense marks, like scribbles, but so controlled. The softness of the trees is so different from the hard edge of the monument, and that contrast really sings. It makes me think of other artists working in the Ashcan style, like John Sloan. They were all capturing everyday life with this incredible sensitivity, showing us the beauty in the mundane. It's not about perfection; it's about feeling, about seeing.