Boundary Dispute 1950

Ella Fillmore Lillie made this etching, called Boundary Dispute, at an unknown date. The way she's built up the image with these tiny, precise marks feels almost obsessive. It’s like she’s trying to capture every little detail of the scene, but also, paradoxically, suggesting the fleeting nature of a moment. The tonal range here is really striking, from the almost-white snow to the deep blacks of the birds. Notice how the texture of the paper comes through in the lighter areas, adding a tactile quality to the print. The lines around the birds are dark and defined, but look closer at the foreground—it is all about the density of mark making. The stumps and broken branches are so evocative, each line a tiny gesture, building up this feeling of a wild, untamed landscape. It reminds me a little of Whistler's etchings, but with a rawness and immediacy that is all Lillie's own. Ultimately, Boundary Dispute captures a sense of nature’s constant flux and the disputes that inevitably arise within it.