# Figures

**Robert Frederick Blum** (American, 1857–1903)  
1881  
Graphite on wove paper  
16.9 × 10.9 cm (6 5/8 × 4 5/16 in.)

Courtesy of Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, 1904-16-345. [The museum's record](https://collection.cooperhewitt.org/view/objects/asitem/id/12982).

## About this work

Partial sketch of three figures.

_Text from Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum._

Robert Frederick Blum drew this in 1881, aged 24. It is now at Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum in New York.

### How it was made

- **Graphite.** Pencil. Graphite has been used for drawing since the 1500s; in 1795 Nicolas-Jacques Conté mixed it with clay, so its hardness could be graded.

### [Robert Frederick Blum](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/robert-frederick-blum)

American, 1857–1903

Blum trained in Cincinnati and Philadelphia and became a leading American illustrator, admired for his deft pen work, pastels and etchings. In Venice in 1880 he worked in the circle of Frank Duveneck and was influenced by Whistler. From 1890 to 1892 he lived in Japan on assignment for Scribner’s Magazine, and Japanese subjects inspired his best-known paintings. He also painted murals for Mendelssohn Hall in New York.

_Written by Ochre Editions._

## Facts

- Type: Drawing
- The artist was 24
- Real size: about 6½ × 4½ in (17 × 11 cm). The original is small: even the 8 × 10 in print shows it larger than life.
- Century: 19th century
- Colour: white
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/1710.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/1710/1920.jpg
- Giclée reproduction on Hahnemühle Photo Rag: 8 × 10 in $28; 11 × 14 in $38; 12 × 16 in $42; 16 × 20 in $56
- Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79
- Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3

Sizes stop where the museum's file would print below 150 pixels per inch. Everything sold is a reproduction, made to order. [Order a print](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/figures-si-chndm-1904-16-345).