Abraham Lincoln 1928

Here's Timothy Cole's engraving of Abraham Lincoln. I can only imagine the patience it must have taken to create this portrait, carefully and precisely cutting into a surface, building tone through tiny marks. It’s such a controlled and deliberate way of working; the opposite of my process where I can be impulsive! Look at the way Cole captures the texture of Lincoln’s face, each line seems to trace the history etched on his skin. You can feel the weight of responsibility in those marks. It makes me think of Holbein's portraits, where every detail is rendered with such exacting precision, yet manages to capture something deeply human about the sitter. There’s a stillness and dignity here, but also a sense of melancholy. It reminds me that artists are constantly in conversation with one another, finding new ways to express timeless truths through their chosen medium.