Two Cats (from Sketchbook)

About this artwork

This graphite on off-white wove paper, created in ca. 1838 and after, represents significant artistic achievement by Francis William Edmonds, a American artist. The piece demonstrates the technical capabilities and aesthetic conventions of American art during this historical period. Working in graphite on off-white wove paper, the artist employed materials and techniques characteristic of the era, creating visual effects that convey both subject matter and artistic vision. Museum collections pre...

Art Historical Context

In the American Wing of the Metropolitan Museum Art, Francis William Edmonds' *Two Cats (from Sketchbook)* (ca. 1838 and after) offers a charming glimpse into 19th-century American draftsmanship. Rendered in graphite on off-white wove, this intimate 6 5/8 x 8 in. sketch captures two felines with delicate precision, likely as a preparatory study from the artist's personal sketchbook. Edmonds, a prominent American artist of the era, exemplifies the period's growing interest in everyday subjects, blending technical skill with observational acuity during a time when American art was transitioning ...

About the Artist

Francis William Edmonds · 1806–1863

Francis William Edmonds, born on November 22, 1806, in Hudson, New York, into a prominent Quaker family as the seventh child of storekeeper and public servant Samuel Edmonds and Lydia Worth Edmonds, displayed remarkable artistic talent from youth. After Quaker schooling and farm work, he entered banking in 1823 as a clerk at the Tradesmen's Bank in New York City under his uncle Gorham Worth, a pat...