Samuel Johnson Woolf, 12 Feb 1880 - 3 - Edwin Herbert Land - 1941 - T-Shirt

Write a Review
$19.99 - $26.99
Shipping:
Free Shipping
Adding to cart… The item has been added

Mix & Match Discount

  • Any 3 Items — 10% off
  • Any 5 Items — 20% off
  • Any 10 Items — 30% off
Mix & match anything sitewide — combine tees, hoodies, and more. Discount applies automatically at checkout.

Samuel Johnson Woolf, 12 Feb 1880 - 3 - Edwin Herbert Land - 1941 - T-Shirt

This charcoal portrait shows inventor Edwin Herbert Land in three-quarter profile, head lowered and eyes cast downward against a field of tan paper.

Visual Elements & Composition

Charcoal black dominates the drawing, concentrated in the hair, dark jacket, collar and tie. The face is built from soft, smudged tone along the cheek, jaw and brow, with a faint smile at the corner of the mouth. The figure dissolves into peach kraft paper at the shoulders, leaving a wide open ground around the head. Warm grey and a few white highlights carry the modelling. The inscription at lower right reads "Edwin H Land" with "drawn from life by S. J. Woolf" beneath it.

Meaning & Symbolism

The lowered gaze and quiet expression give the portrait a reflective, inward mood. That suits the sitter, the American scientist who founded the Polaroid Corporation and developed instant photography, a career that joined optical science and practical invention. The inscription records the drawing as made from life, so it reads as an original study rather than a reproduction. The artist, Samuel Johnson Woolf, was an American portraitist known for charcoal and crayon likenesses of politicians, academics, business leaders and other public figures, many reproduced in newspapers and magazines in the 1920s and 1930s. His method was to build a convincing likeness with a few economical strokes and a restrained tonal range.

Designed for the Wearer to Read Up Close

A portrait drawing rewards a close look, and a tee is worn at close range, so the face and its quiet tonal shifts stay in view as you move. The open paper around the head becomes the open ground of the shirt, letting the drawing sit calmly on the chest rather than filling it. The inscription beneath the figure stays legible as a signature of its origin, so the shirt carries both the sitter and the hand that drew him.

Specifications

Product Details

Size Guide

Care Instructions