Untitled (In the Backyard) c. 1930s

George Hand Wright made this atmospheric print, Untitled (In the Backyard), using delicate marks to evoke this open space and scene. I love the network of lines creating the house and figures within it, as if the entire scene has been captured through touch. I imagine Wright, peering through the window, quickly sketching out the scene, trying to capture its essence—the light flickering through the trees, the everyday actions of people outside. Look how the artist has rendered the figures with such precision and detail, capturing their presence in the open space. The little kid running has been captured with so much dynamism and life. And in that sense, this work reminds me of Camille Pissarro, who also captured scenes from daily life with such tenderness and an understanding of the human spirit. Each artist learns from the other across time and space, don’t you think?