Zena Mill

Bolton Coit Brown uses lines of varying thickness and value to produce the effect of dappled sunlight in this lithograph of a mill in Zena, New York. His energetic style evokes the informality of a pencil sketch, underscoring lithography’s affinity with drawing. To make a lithograph, an artist draws onto a stone with an oily, ink-receptive crayon or other substance. The stone is then inked, rinsed, and pressed onto a piece of paper.

Brown taught himself lithography while staying in London from 1915 to 1916. Prior to World War I, American artists had to have their lithographs printed in Europe, as American printers were primarily interested in printing commercial images. Brown, by contrast, learned to print for himself, allowing him to produce his own lithographs in the United States. He also printed the designs of other American artists, most notably George Bellows.