Sunset
Brooklyn Museum photograph
Object Label
After many year abroad, Joseph Pennell settled in Brooklyn Heights in 1921. His upper-story apartment afforded magnificent views of New York, its waterways, and its bridges—all of which were regular subjects in his art. Pennell achieved the tenebrous effects of this work with aquatint, an etching technique in which the picture is conceived in tone rather than line. Aquatint uses a plate coated with a porous, grainy ground. During the bath, acid bites the underlying metal around the tiny grains, thus creating a subtly patterned area that prints as a tonal wash. By varying the bath time for different sections of the plate, the artist produces darker or lighter tones.
Caption
Ralph Albert Blakelock American, 1847–1919. Sunset, July 1, 1876. Transparent and opaque watercolors and graphite on cream wove paper, 6 1/2 x 4 1/4 in. (16.5 x 10.8 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. E. Le Grand Beers in memory of Edwin Beers , 27.9. No known copyright restrictions (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 27.9_acetate_bw.jpg)
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Artist
Title
Sunset
Date
July 1, 1876
Geography
Place made: United States
Medium
Transparent and opaque watercolors and graphite on cream wove paper
Classification
Dimensions
6 1/2 x 4 1/4 in. (16.5 x 10.8 cm)
Signatures
Signed lower right: "R A Blakelock"
Inscriptions
Pencil inscriptions and color notations throughout sheet, some are obscured by watercolor and are only visible with infrared photography: upper left "floating cirrus / Blue" and "light cloud / back"; upper right "Blue" and "warm gray / against / del. pur [i.e., delicate purple]"; in center "palette edge," "gold" and "warm / Purple"; along bottom edge (obscured by watercolor): "Sunset July 1st. 1876"
Credit Line
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. E. Le Grand Beers in memory of Edwin Beers
Accession Number
27.9
Rights
No known copyright restrictions
This work may be in the public domain in the United States. Works created by United States and non-United States nationals published prior to 1923 are in the public domain, subject to the terms of any applicable treaty or agreement. You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this work. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). The Museum does not warrant that the use of this work will not infringe on the rights of third parties, such as artists or artists' heirs holding the rights to the work. It is your responsibility to determine and satisfy copyright or other use restrictions before copying, transmitting, or making other use of protected items beyond that allowed by "fair use," as such term is understood under the United States Copyright Act. The Brooklyn Museum makes no representations or warranties with respect to the application or terms of any international agreement governing copyright protection in the United States for works created by foreign nationals. For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
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