Icarus Study by Emlen Etting (PA, 1905-1993), graphite on paper, signed and dated 1963, comes from a series of sketches done by artist for a work based on Icarus fable, loose - 9 3/4" x 8"
 
Born in Philadelphia, Etting (Emlen Pope Etting, Jr.)  was a painter, illustrator, sculptor, author, filmmaker, and member of Philadelphia's elite Main Line Society. He attended schools in Switzerland and St. George's School in Middletown, Rhode Island. After graduating from Harvard in 1928, he studied with the artist Andre Lhote in Paris. During World War II, Etting served in the psychological warfare division of the Office of War Information. He was present at the liberation of Paris and he collaborated with Orson Welles to record the event. During the war, he wrote, presented, and recorded a series of daily news programs for the American Broadcasting Station in Europe. Etting's responsibilities included recording the experiences of the newly liberated French townspeople he met in the wake of the military sweep of their occupied country for the US Army and reporting on what he observed in the field. Etting pieced together and recorded this oral history. Upon his return home, he published Prodigal Flyer, a "true" story, about his experiences. also made several short films throughout his early life. His personal favorite was Poem 8 (1932). After returning from the war, Etting immediately worked as an illustrator, but continued to paint and sculpt. He created a large catalogue of paintings and drawings and worked most every day. His artworks included "a lot of male nudes and paintings of sailors" and, today, his work is in the permanent collections of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Allentown Art Museum, and the Museum of American Art at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Etting taught at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Philadelphia College of Art, Temple University's Tyler School of Art, and Florida Southern College. Etting's sculpture Phoenix Rising was installed in the plaza next to Philadelphia's City Hall in 1982. The sculpture symbolized Philadelphia's rise from urban decay.