We drove out to Ferndale to meet Stephen Magsig, who's been painting scenes of the Detroit cityscape for over 30 years. He has a studio behind his craftsman-style house, where he paints in the company of a well-fed cat named Art.

Mr. Magsig has been documenting the city through the worst of its years, but he consistently shows the beauty in the decay. He told us about his practice of studying space through photography, which he uses as a reference in each of his paintings. There probably isn't a building or a street in Detroit that he hasn't studied in exquisite depth.

Leaving his studio, we decided to do a little urban recon of the neighborhoods between Ferndale and Detroit through his eyes. We found areas of splendor in wooded cul-de-sacs, and beautiful walkable communities with unique small businesses opening up, and we also found giant abandoned factories that look like the set of a science fiction film. But the abandoned houses of Detroit, many the victims of arson, are a sight to see. They were built with such craftsmanship, and you can see it in what remains. People are restoring and rebuilding. They are making art from the wreckage. It's really something to see. 

I think what stands out most about these neighborhoods is what, to me, makes the city so spectacular - and it's what you see in Magsig's work. This city was pushed to the brink, and it may have seemed that all was lost. But this place was built with care and pride, and that's something that is harder to erode. It's still there, and I am grateful that I got to witness that energy shifting the pendulum's swing.

THE PHOTO ESSAY FOR LINCOLN NOW

PUBLISHING

We wanted this story to reach the Lincoln brand community, in addition to audiences interested in art and artists, so we created a number of photoessays mixed with interview content for targeted publishing across channels including Lincoln Now, Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook, and the Instagram channels of both the brand and photographer.