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Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.
Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.
Second Thought
Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.
Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.

Second Thought

Artifact IDMO 1956.290
Object Type Print
Artist (American, 1893 - 1965)
Dateca. 1939
Mediumpaper, ink
Dimensionsoverall H 10 3/4 in x W 8 3/4 in (27.3 cm x 22.2 cm )
 image H 8 7/8 in x W 6 7/8 in (22.5 cm x 17.5 cm )
Physical DescriptionA carborundum and aquatint print depicting the head of a man wearing a hat. The title is written in pencil below the image, center: Second Thought. It is signed by the artist in pencil below the image in the lower right: D. Thrash.

On the reverse of the print is a note written in pencil: WPA / 39.821.
Historical NoteFamed draftsman, master printmaker, and painter Dox Thrash (1893-1965) worked as a printmaker at the Fine Print Workshop, which was created under the WPA’s Federal Art Project in Philadelphia.

During his time there, Thrash developed a carborundum printmaking process. He adapted the mezzotint process, invented in the seventeenth century, by using carborundum to abrade the metal plate. Working from dark to light, he smoothed the rough surface to form his composition, achieving an impressive tonal range of rich blacks. This print, created by Thrash for the Project, is one such example and was displayed in an exhibit of WPA artwork at the New York World’s Fair in 1940. A Southerner who settled in Philadelphia during the 1920s, Thrash often drew on memories of growing up in his native Georgia for subject matter.

The print is currently on display on a rotational basis in the FDR Library's special exhibition, BLACK AMERICANS, CIVIL RIGHTS, AND THE ROOSEVELTS, 1932-1962.
Additional Details
Credit LineAllocated by the U.S. Government, Works Progress Administration, Federal Art Project, 1935 - 1943. Held by the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.
National Archives Catalog CollectionFranklin D. Roosevelt Library Museum Collection (National Archives Identifier 735948)
National Archives Catalog SeriesArtifacts Relating to the New Deal (National Archives Identifier 750981)
Use Restriction StatusUnrestricted
CopyrightReproduction or other use of these holdings or images thereof is unrestricted.
In Collection(s)
On view
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