Georgia Cotton Crop
Dox Thrash
American, 1893–1965
Details
Title
Georgia Cotton Crop
Artist/Maker
Dox Thrash (American, 1893–1965)
Date
1944–1945
Medium
Carborundum mezzotint and etching on paper
Dimensions
9 9/16 x 10⅞ inches
Credit
Purchase with David C. Driskell African American Art Acquisition Fund
Accession #
2011.107
Location
Currently not on view
One of the most renowned African American printmakers of the twentieth century, Dox Thrash was instrumental in the development of the carborundum printmaking process. After signing on with the Federal Art Project in 1937, Thrash and his colleagues created this efficient technique, which resulted in more durable plate surfaces but required less time and effort to produce than traditional methods. Though appreciated as an economical advance in printmaking, the technique was never widely used. Thrash’s use of the carborundum technique here enhances the work’s chiaroscuro complexities. He intentionally obscures the faces of his figures and other details, as if channeling a foggy memory of his youth in rural Georgia.