President Coolidge 1925

Dwight Case Sturges made this portrait of President Coolidge by etching lines into a plate. The beauty here is in the subtle range of tones, achieved through the density and direction of these tiny marks. Look at how Sturges uses hatching to define Coolidge's features, almost like a topographical map etched onto his face! It's a reminder that portraiture is just as much about the process as it is about the likeness. There's this real sense of immediacy; you can almost feel the artist's hand moving across the plate. The texture created by the varying depths of the etched lines adds a tactile quality to the image. It's like a visual whisper, inviting you to lean in and contemplate the nuances of Coolidge’s persona. Thinking about other printmakers, like Whistler, you realize how an artist can create a world of light and shadow with just a few precisely placed lines. Ultimately, it's about the dialogue between the artist, the medium, and the subject, and this piece does all that with a quiet intensity.