Minesweepers in Port

Edward Alexander Wadsworth

1918 · Woodcut · Drawings and Prints

Minesweepers were ships that helped locate and detonate sea mines in order to safeguard shipping lanes and ensure that the Germans did not create a naval blockade. In this small print, Wadsworth compressed the space between the ship, the bridge, and other elements in the composition, thus blurring distinctions between object and field to create a sense of visual confusion tantamount to encountering a dazzle ship at sea.

Artist

Edward Alexander Wadsworth

Date

1918

Medium

Woodcut

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Purchase, Leslie and Johanna Garfield Gift, Lila Acheson Wallace, Charles and Jessie Price, and David T Schiff Gifts, The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, Dolores Valvidia Hurlburt Bequest, Peco Foundation and Friends of Drawings and Prints Gifts, and funds from various donors, 2019