Three Studies of Arms

Edwin Howland Blashfield's anatomical study demonstrates the rigorous figure drawing that underpinned American illustration at the turn of the twentieth century. Working from live models, Blashfield rendered the musculature and gesture of the human arm across three positions—extended, flexed, and relaxed—using charcoal on toned paper. Such studies were foundational to the formal training of illustrators and painters, who relied on anatomical precision to convey narrative and emotion through the figure. Blashfield's technical mastery and careful observation of form exemplify the classical traditions that shaped American visual culture before modernism.