Glacial Boundary 1939

Edwin L. Fulwider made this print, Glacial Boundary, with lithographic crayon. The marks are dense and almost velvety. You get the feeling that Fulwider is interested in both the land as something shaped by natural forces, and the way the people who live on it shape the land in turn. I can almost feel the weight of that old plough, and the slow plod of the horse. Look how the contours of the field echo the curve of the hill above, and the dark smudges of trees. There's a real harmony. I’m reminded of the Regionalist painters like Grant Wood, although there's something a bit more unsettling here. The dark sky and slightly wonky buildings suggest a world that is both solid and on the verge of collapse. Ultimately, this tension between stability and uncertainty is what makes the print so compelling.