Victory Garden 1942

Francis Sumner Merritt made this print, Victory Garden, in 1943, using a monochrome palette that feels both stark and full of depth. The marks, they're not just lines, they build this whole world. It's all in the details here, right? Look at the way Merritt uses the shading to give weight to the figure, you can almost feel the strain in the figure's posture. Then there's the garden itself, that mess of scratchy marks that form the growing plants. There's real tenderness there. The way it's composed, it feels like we are right there in the dirt with them. I keep looking at those feet, they are so solid, like roots. Merritt reminds me of Kathe Kollwitz, not just in subject matter, but in their shared commitment to empathy, and their understanding of the emotional power of printmaking. Like both artists, the beauty here lies in the seeing, and the feeling. It’s not about answers; it’s about questions.