Portrait of Edward D. Adams from a Trial Plate
Medium
Etching and drypoint; second state
Dimensions
Sheet: 11 7/8 × 8 11/16 in. (30.2 × 22 cm) Plate: 7 7/16 × 5 in. (18.9 × 12.7 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Edward D. Adams, 1921
Accession Number
21.33.2
Tags
Art Historical Context
This striking etching and drypoint print, created in 1892, captures Edward D. Adams in a dignified portrait by the French-born artist Alphonse Legros. Legros, renowned for his mastery of printmaking and his influence on the etching revival in Britain and America, often portrayed prominent figures of his time with a direct, introspective gaze. The work’s “second state” designation reveals the artist’s careful refinement of the plate, showcasing subtle adjustments in line and tone that enhance the subject’s presence. Executed on a modest plate measuring just over seven by five inches, the print...
About the Artist
Edward Dean Adams|Alphonse Legros ( |French and British) · 1846 |1837 –1931 |1911
|French, Dijon 1837–1911 Watford, Hertfordshire