Dartmouth College Etchings

Upon the invitation of President Hopkins one of the foremost contemporary etchers and painters, Louis Orr of Paris, came to Hanover in the summer of 1927 and made preliminary studies of Dartmouth buildings. He selected eight subjects and, in addition, the Baker Memorial Tower, to be included in his album of "Dartmouth College Etchings by Louis Orr." Only one hundred prints of each plate were to be made, and after the last etching had been "pulled" the plates were to be mutilated and placed in the hands of the College so that no more impressions could ever be made from them.

The result of work covering a period of more than a year has given to Dartmouth a beautiful set of etchings. Mr. Orr himself says that he, the critics, and his close friends agree that the Dartmouth album is the finest of his series of American college subjects. Among his previous series are: "The Orr Etchings of Yale University" and "A Folio of Williamstown Etchings by Louis Orr." His European studies are the most famous and he has three times been commissioned by the French Government to make important etchings. For his beautiful triptych of the Rheims Cathedral, sketched during the war while under fire, he was awarded the coveted Legion of Honor. Mr. Orr is the only American artist whose work is in the Louvre, and in the permanent collection of the Luxem- bourg galleries are thirty-three of his original drawings. Although he was born in Hartford, Connecticut, and is an American citizen, Mr. Orr has made his home in Paris since his early youth when he first studied there.

The limited edition of one hundred albums of the Dartmouth etchings has been almost entirely subscribed. A few folios remain available and subscriptions, at $100 each, may be sent to the President's Office. Placed on exhibition in the Baker Library, both the original pencil drawings, which the artist has presented to the College, and the etchings have attracted the attention of students and faculty. The comment is unanimous that Mr. Orr has caught the atmosphere of Hanover and that he portrays beautifully the historic buildings of an American college.