
1944–1954
New York City provided Reginald Marsh with ready subjects for his work as an artist and freelance illustrator. A draftsman at heart, he first used watercolor in the 1920s and returned to it in 1939, stating that “watercolors give clarity and allow for better drawing.” In this example, he drew with black crayon and graphite, and then applied the watercolor with thin, transparent washes of black and gray, carefully allowing them to pool and dry in untidy clouds that emphasize the dirty, grimy realism of his landscape.