Man Pointing and Writing; Man with Arms Folded (from Sketchbook)
ca. 1838 and after
Medium
Graphite on off-white wove paper
Dimensions
6 5/8 x 8 in. (16.8 x 20.3 cm)
Classification
Drawing
Culture
American
Department
The American Wing
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Sheila and Richard J. Schwartz Fund, 1987
Accession Number
1987.196.3p recto
Tags
Art Historical Context
This delicate graphite sketch by American artist Francis William Edmonds captures two male figures in contrasting poses, offering a glimpse into the artist’s careful study of gesture and expression Created around 1838 and later, the drawing comes from one of Edmonds’s sketchbooks and measures just 6 5/8 by 8 inches, underscoring its role as an intimate, on-the-spot study rather than a finished work. Executed in graphite on off-white wove paper, the sheet reveals Edmonds’s fluid line work and attention to posture. One figure leans forward, actively pointing and writing, while the other stands ...
About the Artist
Francis William Edmonds · 1806–1863
Francis William Edmonds, born on November 22, 1806, in Hudson, New York, into a prominent Quaker family as the seventh child of storekeeper and public servant Samuel Edmonds and Lydia Worth Edmonds, displayed remarkable artistic talent from youth. After Quaker schooling and farm work, he entered banking in 1823 as a clerk at the Tradesmen's Bank in New York City under his uncle Gorham Worth, a pat...