Untitled (George Washington Bridge) 1946

This print of the George Washington Bridge was made by Arthur H. Lindberg, though it is hard to say when. The way he builds up the image with these tight, dense marks really reminds me of the way I build up layers in my own work. There’s a real process here, mark by mark, to create something solid. Check out how Lindberg uses line to create the textures of the trees in the foreground. The marks are almost like shorthand for foliage, built up into these big masses of shadow and light. It is interesting how he plays with scale. The bridge is huge, but so are those trees. It's a funny kind of space, not quite realistic, but full of this quiet energy. This print reminds me a little of the work of someone like the early 20th Century artist, Lyonel Feininger, in that there's a sense of the architectural, but it is softened somehow by the hand of the artist.