Portage 1930

Kerr Eby made this print, called Portage, using etching, aquatint, and drypoint. Look closely and you’ll see it’s all about the line, hatched and cross-hatched to create tone and texture. It makes me think about drawing as a kind of mapping, charting a course through the wilderness. The surface is alive with tiny marks, like a constellation of graphite dust. Notice how Eby uses the white of the paper to suggest the churning water, those little rapids tumbling over rocks. The composition’s split between the dark, dense forest at the top and the open, reflective water below. It’s like a mirror reflecting not just the landscape, but also the effort, the labor, of these figures struggling against the current. The figure carrying the canoe becomes monumental, a symbol of human endurance and the relationship between people and nature. It reminds me a little of Winslow Homer's paintings, especially the way he captured the drama and struggle of life on the water. Just like Homer, Eby invites us to contemplate our place in the natural world, and the enduring power of art to capture its beauty and challenges.