Old Woman Leaning on a Cane, from Life-Sized Heads

Description

Frye's most important work in the graphic media was the mezzotint series of twelve life-sized heads. These monumental portraits are distinctive in the history of English mezzotints; not only is their life-size scale unusual, but they are also original portraits created specifically for the mezzotint medium. Only a few years after their creation, Frye's richly atmospheric mezzotints influenced portraits by Joseph Wright of Derby.

Old Woman Leaning on a Cane, from Life-Sized Heads

Thomas Frye

1760

Accession Number

76025

Medium

Mezzotint in black on buff laid paper

Dimensions

Image: 47.4 × 35.2 cm (18 11/16 × 13 7/8 in.); Plate: 50.5 × 35.4 cm (19 15/16 × 13 15/16 in.); Sheet: 52.8 × 37.8 cm (20 13/16 × 14 15/16 in.)

Classification

mezzotint

Museum

The Art Institute of Chicago

Chicago, United States

Credit Line

Purchased with funds provided by Mrs. George B. Young