East River 1948

Cyrus LeRoy Baldridge etched this image of the East River, likely in the 1940s. You can almost feel the gritty air of the industrial waterfront! I love the way the lines create this world. They are so descriptive, yet loose enough to let your mind wander. I imagine Baldridge standing there, maybe on a rooftop, squinting in the haze, trying to capture the vastness of the scene. The way he uses cross-hatching to create depth and shadow is really effective. It reminds me of some of the social realist prints being made at that time, but there's something more personal here, too. I find myself thinking about Joseph Stella, who was similarly inspired by the Brooklyn Bridge. Ultimately, I think that the artist's conversation between observation and imagination helps us find new ways of seeing and experiencing the world. It is an invitation to linger and dream in the space that the artist has created.