The Etcher by Stacy Tolman in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, February 2020

The Etcher
ca. 1887–89

Object Details

Title: The Etcher

Artist: Stacy Tolman (1860–1935)

Date: ca. 1887–89

Culture: American

Medium: Oil on canvas

Dimensions: 40 1/8 x 30 3/16 in. (101.9 x 76.7 cm)

Classification: Paintings

Credit Line: Purchase, The Bertram F. and Susie Brummer Foundation Inc. Gift, 1962

Accession Number: 62.92


Having first studied in Boston, Tolman pursued further training in Paris, at the Académie Julian and the École des Beaux-Arts, from 1884 to 1886. "The Etcher" shares the French academic interest in portrayals of artists at work. It depicts Tolman’s friend and fellow student William H. Bicknell (1860–1947), probably in the Boston studio shared by the two artists. Bicknell is shown etching, working from a mirror that reflects a page of the book propped up to his left. A translucent screen diffuses light from the dormer overhead. The hanging wine bottles add a note of levity to the scene of artistic concentration.


Text from: www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/12810