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Photography by Edward C. Robison III.

Skyriders

A crane lifts the two iron workers and a steel beam into the air. These "skyriders" were men who risked their lives to construct skyscrapers, often bolting steel in place while dangling hundreds of feet above the ground.

Look closer at the fine lines in this etching. In the etching process, a metal plate is first covered in a waxy coating called a “ground.” The artist uses a sharp, pointed tool to scratch through the ground, exposing the metal plate. The plate is then covered in acid, which bites into the exposed areas to produce incised lines. In printing, the plate is inked and the surface is wiped, leaving ink in the lines that have been cut by acid. When the plate is pressed with a sheet of slightly damp paper, the paper picks up the ink from the grooves.

ArtistaJames Edmund Allen(1894-1964)
Fecha1935
MedioEtching
Dimensiones12 x 9 in. (30.5 x 22.9 cm)
Firmadol.r., in pencil: James B. Allen
Línea de créditoCrystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas, 2012.39
ClasificaciónPrint
ProcedenciaDaniel Lebard, Brussels, Belgium; (Catherine E. Burns, Oakland, CA); purchased by Crystal Bridges Museum of Art, Bentonville, AR, 2012
En exhibiciónNo
Skyriders12 × 9 in.Tennis Ball2.7 in. diameter

This artwork's face covers about 15× the area of a tennis ball.Drawn to the same scale.