Demolition, Lincoln's Inn Fields
c. 1919
Medium
etching in black
Dimensions
plate: 11.91 × 8.1 cm (4 11/16 × 3 3/16 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Rosenwald Collection
Accession Number
1943.3.208
Art Historical Context
Clifford Addams's *Demolition, Lincoln's Fields* (c. 1919) captures a poignant moment of urban transformation in one of London's most historic squares. Lincoln's Inn Fields, surrounded by elegant 17th- and 18th-century, was a hub for legal institutions and Georgian elegance. This small etching (plate: 11.91 × 8.1 cm) freezes the chaos of demolition, likely reflecting post-World War I rebuilding efforts that reshaped the city amid economic recovery and modernization. Rendered in black etching—an intaglio technique where acid etches fine lines into a metal plate for inking and printing—Addams e...