Lace in Stone, Rouen, from French Churches Series

John Taylor Arms

1927

Although the extreme detail in Arms’s work demonstrates his technical skill, it is also a testament to his industriousness. He often worked 18-hour days without breaks and spent over 2000 hours on his more elaborate prints. Lace in Stone, which he considered his greatest work, undoubtedly took well over 1000 hours to complete. Remarkably, he produced the preliminary drawing while sitting in the middle of a busy thoroughfare, choked by the dirt of the road and harried by motorists, onlookers, and policemen.