Mr. Herrick Teaching Wood Engraving at the Women's Art School, Cooper Union

This sketch by Ada C. Thompson documents an art instruction scene at Cooper Union's Women's Art School. The composition shows an instructor demonstrating wood engraving techniques to a group of female students gathered around a work table. Thompson's loose, gestural pencil work captures the informality of the classroom moment, with figures positioned at various angles observing the demonstration. The notation at bottom identifies the subject and setting, while marginal inscriptions reference family connections. The drawing reflects the mid-nineteenth-century expansion of formal art training to women students in American institutions, documenting both pedagogical practice and the social composition of art education during this period.