Westminster Abbey c. 1923

William Walcot made this etching of Westminster Abbey at an unknown date, but probably in the first half of the twentieth century. Looking at it, I think about the kind of mark-making you get from etching, where line becomes almost like light itself. It's all in these subtle gradations, and the way the surface of the paper becomes part of the image. The details in the architecture feel both precise and kind of dissolving, like a memory. Notice the small figures in the foreground – they’re just these fleeting marks, but they give you a sense of scale and also this feeling of the city as a place of constant movement. Walcot reminds me a little of Piranesi, with that obsessive quality and fascination with architectural space, but he definitely brings his own sensibility to it. It’s a print that invites you to get lost in the details, and to find new things each time you look at it. It’s nice to think about the ongoing conversation between artists across time, each adding their own voice to the mix.