Over the Garden Wall 1912

Helen Hyde made this color woodcut called 'Over the Garden Wall' in 1912. The flat planes of color and bold outlines are so striking, it's easy to see how printmaking is all about process. I keep coming back to the cactus. It's monumental, almost a wall! The texture's so subtly created, the light and shadow just right. There's something about that deep green running through it that really grabs me – feels so solid and real. And then, peeking behind, there's a figure in a big black hat, a hint of narrative. It's a little mystery, a moment of seeing and not quite understanding, like glimpsing something out of the corner of your eye. There’s something about this particular image and its use of scale which reminds me of some of the prints of Gustave Baumann, another artist working with woodcut around the same time. In both cases, they seem to be having a conversation about how much information to give the viewer.