The Red Shawl

Object Details

graphic artist

Gearhart, May

Description

"The Red Shawl" is a soft ground color etching and aquatint by May Gearhart (1872–1951). Although she created landscape prints like her sister Frances, May Gearhart also made prints of figure subjects. "The Red Shawl" is an image inspired by one of her trips to Mexico.

In the print, a woman shown in profile holds a small bouquet of flowers while walking along a cobblestone sidewalk next to a white building. Her layered clothing, Gearhart's skillful use of color, and the deep shadows give the impression of a cold, but sunny morning. The woman is wearing a full, plaid, violet skirt and a red shawl. Her slightly bowed head is covered by a yellow kerchief and her face is shadowed.

Gearhart achieved a watercolor effect by thinning oil-based inks. This tiny print is very loosely rendered, a characteristic of the soft ground technique. Although the process of printmaking usually involves creating a set of identical images, Gearhart often printed in small editions, using different shades of ink for each print to produce unique impressions.

The Gearhart sisters both taught school, and they worked closely with two brothers, Benjamin and Howell Brown, to establish and support printmaking organizations in California. The Gearharts and the Browns exhibited their prints at the Smithsonian in the 1920s, and they all made generous donations of their work.

Location

Currently not on view

[1920]

ID Number

GA.13357

catalog number

13357

accession number

70154

Object Name

print

etching

Print

Object Type

Etching

Other Terms

Print; Intaglio; Etching

Physical Description

paper (overall material)

ink (overall material)

Measurements

image: 10.3 cm x 7.5 cm; 4 1/16 in x 2 15/16 in

sheet: 23.3 cm x 15.3 cm; 9 3/16 in x 6 in

overall: 23.6 cm x 23 cm; 9 5/16 in x 9 1/16 in

place made

United States: California, Pasadena

See more items in

Work and Industry: Graphic Arts

Clothing & Accessories

Communications

Art

National Museum of American History

Record ID

nmah_782240

Metadata Usage (text)

CC0

GUID (Link to Original Record)

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746a5-b140-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa