New England Snow 

Eugene Frandzen’s “New England Snow” is an etching, a printmaking technique with a long history, predating photography and other mechanical means of capturing images. The image begins with a metal plate, most likely copper. The artist would have covered it with a waxy, acid-resistant ground. Using a needle, he would then draw through the ground, exposing the metal beneath. When dipped in acid, these lines would be etched into the plate. This process could be repeated to create lines of varying depth and thickness, and therefore different shades of grey in the final print. Etching has long been associated with craft and industry, as it was used for mass reproduction, but artists in the late 19th and early 20th centuries revived it as a handmade medium, distinct from commercial printing. As you can see, Frandzen explored the tonal range achievable with the etching process, and elevated a humble scene to something expressive and beautiful. He reminds us that there is more to an image than its mere representational value.