History is a fun topic. It is all essentially facts so it’s easier to follow than other subjects. Whether it is learning more about a subject you already know or discovering something new, history can excite anyone. I actually started my first day as a graduate student here at Marywood University, and my first class was History of American Illustrators where we looked at several American illustrators starting from the 1700’s. Many of the artist shown were talented and pioneers in their crafts but the one I was most impressed with was Franklin Booth.

Upon first glance of Franklin Booth’s art it appears that he is a printmaker but actually if you look closer you will see hundreds of lines. Each line is hand drawn with care and precision with only Booth knowing how close each lines needs to be to create different textures and shades. Booth would make hundreds of these hyper detailed illustrations captivating audiences all over America.

I absolutely love his work. I have a huge weakness to line art it is one of the easiest styles to learn but it can be difficult to master. I like how clear Booth’s art pieces are even with hundreds of lines going in different directions working together to compose a single image. Booth knew how to establish balance and hierarchy in his art too always ensuring that the audience knew the structure of his composition. He’s work would be primarily in black and white so Booth was also an expert in values, and shades.

Franklin Booth was truly a master at his craft and I hope you all gained some enjoyment from his art like I did.