Label Text: A profile portrait of the artist’s first wife, Elizabeth Foley, this sensitively-rendered drypoint advanced Haskell’s professional career while garnering a mixed critical reaction. Haskell included the print when he exhibited with prominent etching societies, including the Chicago Society of Etchers (founded 1911). One New York Times critic noted this image’s resemblance to Whistler’s portraits of his mistress, Joanna Hiffernan, but observed that the midtones lack variety. Perhaps the critic responded to Haskell’s choice to wipe the plate almost completely clean, rather than leaving a thin film of ink as Whistler typically did. The largest amount of ink clings to the ridges of metal created by scoring deep marks in the plate, giving Elizabeth’s hair a velvety texture.
KG, How He Was to His Talents exhibition, March 24, 2011-August 7, 2011
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