Fourth Avenue

Joseph Pennell

1910

ink

From the collection of National Gallery of Art

Early Modern Cityscape street

About this work

This lithograph shows a busy city street in 1910, packed with trolleys, carriages, and pedestrians. The artist etched every detail into stone, then inked it by hand. You can almost hear the clatter of hooves and the hiss of steam. Lithography lets artists draw right on smooth limestone. Then ink sticks only where the drawing was. This method gives such crisp lines. See how the shadows stretch? That shows noon light cutting through tall buildings. Want to try this yourself? Look up lithography.