Puss Napping - George Baxter

Gift of Henry M. Huxley

"Puss Napping" by George Baxter (1856) Steel etching, aquatint, and stipple printed in brown, with block printing in colors from four zinc blocks, on wove paper, laid down on original stamped mount.

Commentary

"Puss Napping" by George Baxter (1856) invites a close look at how form and feeling work together. The print-based method rewards close viewing, where line, texture, and contrast do most of the expressive work. Themes to notice include engraving. This piece is held in the source collection's Prints and Drawings collection. George Baxter is the artist behind this work. A useful anchor for reading the piece: George Baxter English, 1804-1867. The work is cataloged within a England cultural context. How to look at this work: It is cataloged as engraving, which gives a clue to how the museum frames the object. Its medium (Steel etching, aquatint, and stipple printed in brown, with block printing in colors from four zinc blocks, on wove paper, laid down on original stamped mount) affects texture, durability, and how detail reads at different distances. Its listed dimensions (Sheet: 11.1 × 16 cm (4 3/8 × 6 5/16 in.); mount: 18.1 × 25.3 cm (7 3/16 × 10 in.)) suggest how intimate or monumental it may feel in person. Subject cues from the catalog include engraving. Compare this reading with the museum record at the source collection: https://www.artic.edu/artworks/54313

Sources: Art Institute of Chicago; Art Institute of Chicago / Public Records; Art Institute of Chicago Collection Data