Aquatint on Paper

1935

Plate Size: 7 1/4 x 9 inches

Sheet Size: 11 x 13 1/4 inches

Signed in Pencil Lower Right

The concept of place plays a central role in much of Byxbe’s work, as skillfully evidenced in a number of his pieces. From the Arbor Lodge, to the Joslyn Memorial, from a rural railyard, to a nighttime view of the Omaha Airport, each work contributes to an overall body of art heavily steeped in both the cultural and literal landscape of the midwest. Like much of Byxbe’s art, these four scenes attest both to his love of the midwest and to the fragile relationship between nature and man; several large, bare trees dominate the view in “Arbor Lodge,” while the vast, dark sky envelopes the bright facade of the Joslyn. In “Air Transportation,” artificial airport lights attempt to cut through the starry sky, and “Railroad Yard” is dominated by the vacant tracks and sprawling land beneath them. In these pieces, as in much of Byxbe’s work, the natural and man-made environments vie for primacy and often come out equals.