Donald Shaw MacLaughlan — Frontispiece

The title page of the portfolio, and the only sheet that says what the whole thing is.

The document

Two columns and an arch frame the skyline; on the steps below, a young man leans against the parapet and a woman sits at his feet. Cut into the plate above them, in the artist's own lettering: TEN ETCHED PLATES OF CHICAGO, and below, BY DONALD SHAW MacLAUGHLAN. It is the frontispiece to the 1931 portfolio — the sheet that declares the set.

One of the plates of Ten Etched Plates of Chicago, the portfolio MacLaughlan made in 1931. The Smithsonian holds eight of the ten plus the frontispiece.

About the artist

Donald Shaw MacLaughlan (1876–1938) was born in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, and died in Marrakesh. He spent three decades etching the old cities of Europe — Rouen, Venice, Paris — and in Chicago he was represented by the Albert Roullier Art Galleries. In 1931, at fifty-five, he made twelve views of Chicago. The following year he took a prize at the Society of Etchers annual in New York.

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.

Donald Shaw MacLaughlan · Frontispiece, etching, 1931. Smithsonian American Art Museum, 1974.85.78. Public domain (CC0).