Wonderful Antique Graphite Portrait of Man with Blue Eyes and Beard, Fenced Above Elbows! machine age design but otherwise all in very

but otherwise all in very good condition

there are a few small chips and a slightly larger chip at the right bottom corner

but very pretty

No sparking as noted above

Hiram Campbell Merrill  (1866-1958) was a Boston-born painter and engraver

Wonderful Antique Graphite Portrait of Man with Blue Eyes and Beard, Fenced Above Elbows! machine age design but otherwise all in veryThe more time I spend with this folk portrait, American c. 1880s I believe, the more I love it. Looking closely, it appears that there is just a very subtle bit of pale blue used for the irises of his eyes. And this wonderful care given to the brushy hairs of his beard. And this very sweet little bowtie. But what really makes if for me are the curlicue lines encircling his arms and demarcating the bottom edge of the drawing evincing a barbed wire