Faith

In his characteristically economical graphic style, William Gropper outlined a couple entwined in an embrace in his intimately scaled etching Faith. The blindfolded man clasps his companion from behind within a hug secured by his interlaced hands. The woman, with her arms raised and head tilted upward, applies her fingers to the knot on the blindfold that shields his view. Reversing the usual method of inking and wiping the intaglio plate so that ink is transferred mainly from the incised lines rather than the surrounding flat surfaces, Gropper created the image in unlinked white lines against the inked black background, creating a visually interesting effect that resembles chalk drawn on a blackboard.

Gropper's title is deliberately ambiguous. He may be referring to the maxim "love is blind," to the notion of love as a form of faith in another to fulfill one's desires, or to the question of whether love can outlast the test of reality—that is, when the blindfold is removed. Regardless of the artist's intention, Faith demonstrates his technical versatility and, along with Nude on a Wicker Chair (TF 2004.15) and Exotic Dancer (TF 2004.13), his interest in the human figure independent of the social commentary with which his art is usually associated. Faith is one of many etchings that Gropper printed in collaboration with master printer Emiliano Sorini, who applied his "ES" mark to the margin of this impression.

Sorini, Emiliano. Gropper - Catalogue Raissoné of the Etchings. San Francisco: Alan Wofsy Fine Arts, 1998. No. 132, p. 132.