Stuyvesant Park c. 1935 - 1943

Florence Kent Hunter made this print of Stuyvesant Park using strong black lines, it's full of figures and textures that swirl together. You can almost hear the murmur of conversation and the crunch of footsteps on the path. I imagine Hunter, with her tools, carving into the block. There's such graphic confidence here, that comes from knowing her neighborhood so well. I think about the choices she made, digging into areas, leaving other parts untouched to create contrast, like a dancer choreographing movement and stillness. Look at how the light and shadow create depth, and how the curves of the landscape hug and hold the people within it. She's made an observational document of this place, but she has also added her personal vision to the way that it feels. Artists are always learning from each other, building on the past while pushing into the future. The feeling in this print has a connection with the German Expressionists. It shows us there’s always more than one way to see the world.