Massanutten Mountain 1926

This is an etching of Massanutten Mountain made by Harry Newman Wickey, using a metal plate and acid. Look at the way Wickey’s lines swarm like ants over the mountain, each one a tiny decision, a little bite into the metal. He builds form with such delicate, yet decisive scratches. Up close, you see how the ink pools ever so slightly, giving the whole thing a tactile, almost crumbly feel. I’m drawn to that patch of trees nestled in the valley, a dense cluster of marks that somehow resolves into a recognizable shape. It’s like he’s wrestling with the landscape, trying to capture its essence without getting bogged down in detail. Wickey reminds me a little of some of the regionalist painters, like Thomas Hart Benton, who were trying to capture the spirit of America in the early 20th century. But Wickey’s got this raw, almost awkward energy that feels really contemporary. It’s a reminder that art isn’t about perfect representation, it’s about the messy, beautiful process of trying to make sense of the world around us.