The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of December 13, 2025
Man with Drill
c. 1935
(American, 1899–1986)
Sheet: 43 x 33.2 cm (16 15/16 x 13 1/16 in.); Image: 30.6 x 23.5 cm (12 1/16 x 9 1/4 in.)
John L. Severance Fund 2002.24
Location: Not on view
Description
Turzak was a Chicago printmaker who worked exclusively in relief techniques. Man with Drill is perhaps his most famous image and was inspired by his own experience. After several days of trying to concentrate while a city worker with a drill demolished the street in front of his home and studio, Turzak finally abandoned the premises, deciding instead to sketch the area around Lake Michigan. When the drilling had finished, he returned and began to cut the block for this scene depicting a man with a pneumatic drill. The artist represented the vibrations of the drill with bands of lines that radiate around the figure to the edge of the sheet, capturing the sensation perfectly.- Against the Grain: Woodcuts from the Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 17-November 9, 2003).
- {{cite web|title=Man with Drill|url=false|author=Charles Turzak|year=c. 1935|access-date=13 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2002.24