Description
After brief training at the School of Fine Arts (École des Beaux-Arts) in Paris, Rajon found success as a print maker. In 1886 he visited New York City, where an exhibition of his etchings had been arranged. It was during this trip that he made several portraits from life of William T. Walters, and at least one of William’s son, Henry, shown here. Test areas, where the artist tried out his materials, can be seen in the upper right-hand corner. As the hardness of the crayon and the texture of the paper, which is handmade, would be variable, tests were prudent and needed.
Around the same time this drawing was made, Félix Bracquemond made an etching of it. An example of this print, previously in the collection of George A. Lucas, can be found at the Baltimore Museum of Art.
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