Elias M. Grossman — Rain on the Square

Rain on the square, printed by the artist’s own hand — the full sheet, signatures and hand-lettered title left exactly as they are.

The document

A color etching, undated. Reproduced from the complete sheet at the Smithsonian American Art Museum: both pencil signatures, the title written by hand below the plate, and the annotation imp. — which means Grossman pulled this impression himself. The irregular edge of the paper is part of the object and has not been trimmed.

About the artist

Elias M. Grossman was born in Kobryn — then the Russian Empire, today Belarus — in 1898, and died in New York City in 1947. The city is his subject: wet asphalt, tenement walls, the light under an arch, cut in a line so fine it exists only in print.

The print

Printed to order and made to last. Choose Museum Matte (heavyweight matte art paper) or Fine Art Giclée (Hahnemühle cotton paper — the archival standard). The Métrica museum caption — artist, title, date and source — is printed as part of the piece, set in our house type. Free US shipping on orders over $75.

Elias M. Grossman · Rain on the Square, color etching on paper · n.d. · Smithsonian American Art Museum · Accession 2012.13.1 · Gift of Peter E. Blau and Andrew J. Blau in memory of their father, Alan J. Blau · Public domain (CC0).

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