Samuel George Cahan Prints and Multiples

In this copper plate etching, Cahan captures the religious ardor and penitent sentiment shared by the figures in the artwork. The piece is number seventy-six in a series of one-hundred etchings entitled Atonement. Cahan’s heavy use of line, as well as, his ability to convey emotion give the viewer a sensitive but harmonized rendering of Jewish prayer. Dimensions w/Frame: 17 1/2" x 15" The well-known twentieth century American illustrator, etcher, and painter Samuel George Cahan was born in Kovno, Russia, now part of Lithuania. His parents were both born in Russia during the early 1870’s. Two years after his birth, his family emigrated to America and eventually settled in New York City's Lower East Side. Cahan said that his interest for drawing started when he was only an infant. In a 1967 interview, the artist describes his primary school years as vastly disinteresting. While other students heeded their teachers or studied math, Cahan drew. At 12-years-old, Cahan exhibited his early talent for drawing on Fulton Street’s sidewalk. Barefoot and armed with chalk, he crouched outside a restaurant and drew the sinking of Maine. At the time, it was recognizable ship that was smashed by the British. One of the men who passed by his vibrant rendering of the wreckage was the Chief Editor of the New York World newspaper, Nelson Hersh. Upon seeing the young boy’s skill, Hersh offered him a job in the newspaper’s art...