Donald Shaw MacLaughlan — The Wacker Drive

Night, the river, and a single lit tower burning through the plate.

The document

The darkest sheet MacLaughlan pulled in Chicago. The plate is inked almost solid, the bridge and the embankment are barely readable, and one tower stands lit at the centre with the glow spreading out into the sky. Everything else is held back so that it can.

One of the plates of Ten Etched Plates of Chicago, the portfolio MacLaughlan made in 1931. The Smithsonian holds eight of the ten plus the frontispiece.

About the artist

Donald Shaw MacLaughlan (1876–1938) was born in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, and died in Marrakesh. He spent three decades etching the old cities of Europe — Rouen, Venice, Paris — and in Chicago he was represented by the Albert Roullier Art Galleries. In 1931, at fifty-five, he made twelve views of Chicago. The following year he took a prize at the Society of Etchers annual in New York.

The print

Printed to order and made to last. Choose Museum Matte (heavyweight matte art paper) or Fine Art Giclée (Hahnemühle cotton paper — the archival standard). The Métrica museum caption — artist, title, date and source — is printed as part of the piece, set in our house type. Free US shipping on orders over $75.

Donald Shaw MacLaughlan · The Wacker Drive, etching, 1931. Smithsonian American Art Museum, 1974.85.86. Public domain (CC0).