This photograph of John Marshall Cahoon served as the reference for a crayon enlargement by an unknown artist. The enlargement process began with the sun. A camera with an angled mirror captured the sunlight and directed it through the photo negative and an enlarging lens onto a piece of treated paper. This took several hours, and the mirror had to constantly be adjusted to account for the sun’s movement. Between this and any inherent flaws in the image now seen at a much larger scale, they almost always had to be retouched and enhanced using crayons and paint. A skilled artist could maintain the original photograph’s realism, providing a portrait that was worthy of framing and hanging on the wall.
To learn more about John Marshall Cahoon go to frame #25.
