1874
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
Seesaw - Gloucester, Massachusetts is a 1874 ink by American 19th Century, a Impressionism work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This black-and-white scene shows a busy dockside in Gloucester. Two women sit on a pile of ropes, talking while a boy nearby holds a book. Three men stand on a wooden beam, leaning on a long pole, and another boy squats in the background. In the distance, ships and a lighthouse dot the water. The artist used sharp lines and shading to show texture, like the ropes and the men’s clothes. The title hints this is a real place, not a fancy studio scene. Try looking up engraving to see how artists carved these details into wood.
This artist painted everyday American life in the 1800s. Look at *Farmhouse in Mahantango Valley*—a quiet, sunlit scene of rural Pennsylvania. *Boy and Girl* shows two children standing close, their faces turned toward…
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