Oyster House (The Dock) found in June 2019 by Leon Foster Jones

We see a dock or port building with two ships moored. Jones uses ink sparingly, but cross-hatches aggressively to convey the dark paint of the dock and shadows on the water. For lighter objects, he implies more than illustrates shape through his clear mastery of weight and shadow—the water, the sky, and the grass are left as negative space—upon blank white paper, with only a few lines scattered to imply shape and texture. The mountains at the edge of the canvas, too, lose definition and shape, vanishing into loose lines towards the left, but remain stark as they fade out of view within frame. The dock building itself commands attention at the center of the canvas, it’s entrance face rounding out the right side of the composition, its dark shading balancing out the stark white of the smaller ship and the water. The contrast of the water, mountains, and dock is surprisingly uniform across the canvas, as Jones masterfully balances positive and negative space—he leaves enough blank to not let ink dominate the canvas. A note about the painting: for at least twenty-five years this etching has been listed as missing; it was re-located in April 2019. It probably depicts the Suwasset Oyster Company in Port Jefferson, NY, which was destroyed by winter storms in 1934