Artwork Page for An Old Man Had Come out of One of the Houses, from "Not Honorably Discharged"

Details / Information for An Old Man Had Come out of One of the Houses, from "Not Honorably Discharged"

An Old Man Had Come out of One of the Houses, from "Not Honorably Discharged"

1904

William Leroy Jacobs

(American, 1869–1917)
Culture
America
Medium
Black and white gouache and black chalk on paper
Measurements
Sheet: 54.3 x 35.6 cm (21 3/8 x 14 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Albert Rosenthal 1917.277
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
Print

Description

William Leroy Jacobs created this image for a short story by Alice French (writing under the pen name Octave Thanet), “Not Honorably Discharged,” published in Collier’s Fiction Number for May 14, 1904. Magazines like Collier’s offered new opportunities and a ready source of income for emerging and lesser-known writers and artists. In his depiction of this story inspired by contemporary life, Jacobs focused on the protagonist, an older soldier whose black coat creates a dark silhouette in the snowy landscape, highlighting both his respectability and his isolation from the other characters in the scene.
A vertically oriented gouache and black chalk drawing on tan paper depicts a snowy street scene. On the left, an older man in a dark top hat and coat stands in profile. Facing him, an older woman in a plaid shawl and dotted skirt leans on a broom. White and gray gouache textures the snow-covered ground and receding buildings, while spindly trees and faint figures emerge from the hazy background.

An Old Man Had Come out of One of the Houses, from "Not Honorably Discharged"

1904

William Leroy Jacobs

(American, 1869–1917)
America

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