City Rain 1946

Albert Herrman Decker made this print, City Rain, at an unknown date, using hatching and cross-hatching to build up tone.   The whole thing shimmers with this dense, drizzly atmosphere created by layer upon layer of tiny marks. The ink isn’t showy, it’s more about how Decker coaxes a mood out of simple strokes. Look at the way the light catches the wet street and how the buildings loom.   There’s this lone figure walking into the light, and I can’t help but feel for them. That’s what’s so good about this – it’s not just a picture of a rainy city; it’s a feeling, a whole mood captured in ink. It’s like Hopper without the colour, but all the atmosphere. And like Hopper, it reminds us that art is not just about what we see, but how it makes us feel.