Corn Husking in the Mountains 1951 - 1952

Clare Leighton created this wood engraving entitled 'Corn Husking in the Mountains'. The black ink vibrates, doesn’t it? Just look at the marks Leighton made as she responded to this group of laborers harvesting corn. You can feel the effort and the strain. The tonal gradations achieved with such a limited palette are amazing, like a chiaroscuro painting. I bet she was really in tune with her material as she worked through her process, cutting away the wood to let the image emerge. Just imagine the back and forth, the trial and error as she found her way! I wonder if she imagined that the labor of art would somehow mirror the labor of these agricultural workers? I always think that the humanity of art lies in this sort of exchange and cross-reference.