Destroyers in Wet Basin 1945

John Taylor Arms made this print, 'Destroyers in Wet Basin', with etching. I imagine Arms, a master of the etched line, standing before his copper plate, meticulously incising each detail. I think of him layering those lines to conjure light and shadow, the hulking forms of the ships looming, softened by their watery reflections. What a feat of technical skill it must have been to orchestrate this! I can almost feel the cool, damp air of the basin and the weight of those massive steel structures. The print is so precise, yet there's a certain atmospheric haze, almost like a dream. I like how he captures the mundane beauty of industry, transforming a busy shipyard into a space of quiet contemplation, echoing the work of the Ashcan School artists. The way the reflections shimmer and dissolve, it’s really beautiful. I bet other artists admired this work when it came out. It still holds up.