Kerr Eby, born Tokyo, Japan 1889-died - A Summer Day - ca. 1920-1940 - T-Shirt

A seated figure rests at the edge of still water in this quiet summer scene, drawn in fine etched lines.

Visual Elements & Composition

The image is a wide horizontal landscape built in sepia black and warm grey, set on an off-white ground with cream highlights. A large tree with a gnarled trunk and overhanging branches fills the left side, its dark mass anchoring the scene. Across the water, a distant tree-lined shoreline recedes into soft, pale tones. In the foreground, reeds and grasses rise from the marsh, and dense drypoint hatching gives the light and shadow their depth.

Meaning & Symbolism

The scene turns a common seasonal moment into a pause. The figure resting against a rock suggests leisure and a brief release from daily concerns, while the still water and layered shoreline convey calm. Eby made this print in the early twentieth century, and he is best known for his haunting etchings of World War I. Works like this one show his range, with the same control of light, atmosphere, and mood applied to a domestic and natural subject.

Designed for the Chest

The horizontal composition suits a shirt front, where the tree and the seated figure read at a glance from across a room. The open sky and pale ground let the fine hatching stand out, so the scene feels like a small window onto a summer afternoon. Wearing it puts that quiet stretch of the season in plain view.