Cider Mill 1940

This etching, Cider Mill, by Kerr Eby, uses line to create a world. It's almost like a delicate dance of hatching and cross-hatching. The texture! You can almost feel the crispness of the winter air and the crunch of snow underfoot, all rendered with such precision. Look closely, and you’ll see how Eby varies the density of the lines to suggest depth and shadow. See that little figure over to the right? Just there, almost disappearing into the snow? That single mark brings a human element to the landscape, reminding us that this serene vista is also a place of lived experience, of labor and community. Eby made a lot of war images but he also made these quiet rural scenes. It makes you think of Whistler, who was also a master of etching. There's always a conversation happening between artists, across time, and that's part of what makes art so alive.