Engraving
DEFINITION
A printmaking method, it is done with a burin, a sharp tool, used to scratch lines into a hard surface such as metal or wood. A pre 20th-century artist described as an engraver likely worked in any of the intaglio methods of etching, engraving, or drypoint. Etchers were often referred to as "gravers," and persons with this training were much sought after in the 19th Century before the advent of photo reproductions and other technological advances. In 1825, President Andrew Jackson closed the National Bank of the United States, which meant that local banks personnel were on their own relative to issuing and controlling currency and also were independent in hiring trained engravers to imprint their currency. As a result, engraving skills brought financial remuneration, and many of America???s respected art schools opened because of the demands for trained ???gravers???. In turn, many poor young men and a few women acquired skills that later transferred to fine-art painting. It was the beginning of formal art-school education in the United States. Sources: Peter Falk, "Who Was Who in American Art"; James Flexner, ???History of American Painting???, Vol. III, p. 54; James Thorn, 'Distilled Spirit: Asher Durand', Ulster Publishing.com <br><br>Printing method using a plate, also called a die, with an image cut into its surface.<br><br> A general term used to describe traditional printing processes, such as etching, aquatint, drypoint, etc., where an image is made by the use of metal plates and engraving tools, and printed, usually through a printing press. The image can be incised into the plate, or drawn with fluid and then dipped in acid to etch the uncovered areas. These processes are still used by artists, but of course have been supplanted by more modern processes for general printing purposes.