Far from making the genre boring, this seems to have forced the artists to concentrate more on the subtleties of shading and the contrast between light and dark. It is a show that calls for close examination of the pieces and, fortunately, there are no railings or other obstructions preventing viewers from pressing their noses up close to the work. It might even be instructive to bring some sort of magnifying glass to cast light on the technique of several of the artists. In it the artist presents a Dutch colonial home set in a copse of what appears to be mature elms. The detail of the trees and the house is striking but the intricacy of the shadows of limbs as they play on the roof and walls is what makes the print so fascinating.
Tiny lines become progressively more numerous and dense as the shadows deepen.
The combination of straight and squiggled lines yields a complexity that challenges the eye. The printmaking medium also suited the architectural style of Howard Cook. His lithographed rendering of the Washington Bridge in the '30s contrasts the angularity of the bridge's support work with the graceful curving lines of the span stretching into the distance. Again, shadow is an important part of the print as distant ironwork twists into tree forms upon the water. Some of the most richly done pieces in the show are the wood engravings of Clare Leighton.