H. Lyman Saÿen, born Philadelphia, PA - Schuylkill no. 3 - n.d. - T-Shirt

A pen-and-ink view of a railway trestle bridge and steam locomotive crossing the Schuylkill River, drawn by H. Lyman Saÿen.

Visual Elements & Composition

The drawing is built almost entirely from black ink on cream paper, with fine hatching doing the work of tone. A steam locomotive and its trailing smoke sit on the bridge span at the right, while a lattice tower and a crane rise above a cluster of industrial buildings and pilings at the left. A second tower stands at the far right edge. In the foreground, shrubs and bare branches frame the water, where the reflections of the pilings break across the surface. Dense cross-hatching fills the sky and gives the scene a heavy, weathered mood, and the fine horizontal strokes on the river hold it still. The signature sits in the upper left corner.

Meaning & Symbolism

The Schuylkill ran through Philadelphia, and along its banks rail lines, bridges and industry met the water. Saÿen gives that working landscape the same care he gives the shrubs and sky, so the bridge and its towers read as part of the scene rather than an intrusion on it. The piece is one of his views of the city's waterfront, and it records a place where transport and manufacture were part of the river's daily life. The catalogue dates the sheet as undated.

On the Unisex Heavy Cotton Tee

A tee carries this drawing across the chest at a scale you can take in at a glance, the way you would stand back from a sheet on a wall. The bridge runs across the body of the shirt, and the cross-hatched sky and still water give the print its quiet, worn character when it is worn.