Man Pointing and Writing; Man with Arms Folded (from Sketchbook)

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 with arms folded, conveying quiet observation. Such rapid studies allowed 19th-century American artists to record everyday movements that could later appear in genre paintings of ordinary life. Preserved in the Metropolitan Museum’s American Wing, the sketch highlights the importance of drawing as a foundation for narrative art. It invites viewers to appreciate how seemingly simple lines helped shape the storytelling traditions of early American painting.

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...