New Hampshire Auction

Reed's print presents a crowded rural auction taking place in front of a large farmhouse barn. A crowd gathers closely together with movement towards the barn’s open doorway, where an auctioneer can be seen standing on a pedestal above the crowd. The people in the scene are holding various objects such as bedframes, chairs, wheelbarrows, ladders, and other household items. Given its date, we might infer that bankruptcy is forcing the sale. The print is characterized by the artist's signature layered crosshatching and use of shading, to create contrast that draws the viewer's eye in. Campbell uses negative space to create depth in a busy area, intentionally allowing the subjects to blend into the white paper as they move into the background of the piece. Campbell uses sharp lines to cut through the blended background elements such as the ground, sky, and parts of the crowd. It’s notable that structures and objects of interest are structured in front of curved, blended elements of the work that are meant to show movement such as the busy crowd or the clouded sky.  While there's a strange energy to people carrying off purchases, a young girl points at a bedframe that might have belonged to her.