The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of May 16, 2026

A dark-inked print closely crops around a self-portrait of the artist, Dox Thrash, a man with medium-dark skin tone. His face, looking out to our right, emerges from a solid darkness, his eyes the same black as the background. Much of his face, including any hair, recedes into shadow, while white highlights glint on his lower lip, nose, brow, and around the eyes.

Mr. X

c. 1937–38

Dox Thrash

(American, 1892–1965)
America
carborundum print
Platemark: 16.6 x 13.2 cm (6 9/16 x 5 3/16 in.); Sheet: 24 x 21.9 cm (9 7/16 x 8 5/8 in.)
John L. Severance Fund 1996.277
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

Dox Thrash used this print to debut his new carborundum printmaking technique to the public in a 1938 exhibition at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Description

The first African American artist to work at Philadelphia's Fine Print Workshop, Dox Thrash is known for inventing carborundum printmaking, the technique used here. A coarsely grained industrial product was burnished to create grays and highlights alongside rich, dark tones. This print, a self-portrait, was the first that Thrash made using his new and experimental technique. The artist looks slightly upward, boldly and directly, from within a stark field of black.
  • ?-1996
    (Dolan/Maxwell, Inc., Philadelphia, PA)
    September 16, 1996
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Cleveland Museum of Art. Currents & Constellations: Black Art in Focus. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2022. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 3
  • Currents and Constellations: Black Art in Focus. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 20-June 26, 2022).
    Our Stories: African American Prints and Drawings. Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (January 26 - May 18, 2014).
    The Great Migration: The Evolution of African American Art, 1790-1945. Taft Museum of Art, Cincinnati, OH (organizer) (June 16-October 22, 2000).
  • {{cite web|title=Mr. X|url=false|author=Dox Thrash|year=c. 1937–38|access-date=16 May 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1996.277