Cyrus
Date1930
Artist
Elizabeth O'Neill Verner
(American etcher, painter, writer, and lecturer, 1883–1979)
MediumDrypoint
Dimensionsplate: 6 7/8 × 4 15/16 in. (17.5 × 12.5 cm)
sheet: 11 1/8 × 8 7/8 in. (28.3 × 22.5 cm)
sheet: 11 1/8 × 8 7/8 in. (28.3 × 22.5 cm)
Credit LineGift of Dr. Charles Lee Reese, 1940
Object number1940-11.393
On View
Not on viewClassificationsPRINT
Label TextElizabeth O’Neill Verner’s prints sought to capture her most treasured qualities of her native Charleston, South Carolina, and members of the African American community often figure prominently in her picturesque views or are the subject of her few individualized portraits. This depiction of a man identified only by the name of Cyrus focuses attention on the furrowed brow and outward gaze of an outdoor laborer with its keen attention to detail and personality. Verner’s dedication which reads in part “for one who knows Cyrus’s family” suggests a relationship between the artist, the subject, and its former owner, print collector and Wilmington Society of the Fine Arts former president, Dr. Charles Lee Reese. [KEG]
