Gentlemen of the Jury c. 1934

Lewis Daniel created this lithograph, "Gentlemen of the Jury," using a printmaking technique that allows for nuanced gradations of tone. The artist would have drawn with a grease pencil onto a flat slab of limestone, then chemically fixing the image so that it repels water and attracts ink. The resulting prints, like this one, can have a velvety texture and a deep range of blacks and grays. Here, the material qualities of lithography serve to intensify the scene's oppressive atmosphere. The close quarters and agitated figures, rendered through dense, swirling strokes, evoke the claustrophobia and tension of a jury deliberation. The medium's capacity for detail allows us to discern individual expressions of frustration and conflict, emphasizing the human element within the legal process. While lithography is an indirect means of image production, its reliance on the artist's hand and eye makes it a craft-based process as well, distinct from industrial printing. This blurring of categories aligns with the subject matter of the print, which suggests that the pursuit of justice is always subject to human fallibility.