Sussex Landscape 1920

Curator: It has a delicate, almost ethereal quality. Editor: Indeed. We're looking at Donald Shaw MacLaughlan's "Sussex Landscape," an etching from 1920. MacLaughlan was an American artist who spent much of his career in Europe, becoming known for his printmaking. Curator: The etching medium really lends itself to that airy atmosphere. The texture created by the tiny lines is quite striking, giving a sense of movement, especially in the trees. Editor: Absolutely. The light in Sussex seems to be what MacLaughlan has strived to capture, wouldn't you agree? It's also a beautiful example of realism. If you delve deeper into the institutional history, one recognizes how this type of landscape fed a romantic, pre-war sensibility. Curator: That may be true, yet one may argue, that MacLaughlan directs one's attention by organizing his elements, which guide your eyes smoothly from foreground to background—creating depth through line work and controlled tonal variation. The delicate foreground balances the broader, lighter tones of the field. Editor: Yes, I'm drawn to that juxtaposition of dark, defined foliage in the foreground against the paler field and distant trees, too. It lends the piece a sense of groundedness, as though the artist were deliberately juxtaposing that pre-war peace of Sussex, contrasting it with a more sober modernity to come. Curator: It's quite a complex mood. There is peace to be gleaned from how it looks but that may not mirror what society thought and felt. What a beautiful use of tone and line to invoke those many different ideas and feelings! Editor: And I am impressed by the intersection between aesthetics and a wider awareness that MacLaughlan’s landscapes present.