Waterfront c. 1940

Elnore La Caff made this drawing called 'Waterfront' with what looks like graphite or charcoal, and maybe some ink, to capture a scene that feels both familiar and a bit dreamlike. What really grabs me here is the artist's hand, the way she coaxes so much depth and texture from these dark, grainy lines. Notice how the strokes follow the forms, almost like the buildings and figures are being built up, layer by layer, right before our eyes. There’s this tension between the sharp angles of the buildings and the soft, blurry texture of the graphite that makes the whole scene feel like it’s shimmering, like it’s not quite solid. It reminds me a little bit of Piranesi's architectural fantasies, those impossible spaces rendered with such obsessive detail. Both artists share that ability to conjure a whole world from simple strokes on paper. What do you think?