drypoint

American  

[drahy-point] / ˈdraɪˌpɔɪnt /

noun

1. a technique of engraving, especially on copper, in which a sharp-pointed needle is used for producing furrows having a burr that is often retained in order to produce a print characterized by soft, velvety black lines.

2. a print made by this technique.

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Etymology

Origin of drypoint

First recorded in 1825–35; dry + point

Example Sentences

See Vija Celmins’s expanses of wave-capped oceans, which remain as delicate and ephemeral in drypoint as they are in oil.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026

Today, the shop offers prints for all sorts of budgets, from a 2005 black-and-white etching of Midtown building ads for $75 to an 1894 color drypoint print by Mary Cassatt for $325,000.

From New York Times • Sep. 15, 2022

Verdon Winkler employs multiple techniques, notably drypoint and chine collé, to produce gauzier, almost painterly images in what might be called a rainbow of grays.

From Washington Post • Jul. 7, 2021

They include four oil paintings with a starting bid of $7,500 each, three lithographs with a starting bid at $250, one drypoint, one watercolor and one student oil.

From Washington Times • Feb. 14, 2017

Rembrandt's use of drypoint is, as Jakob Rosenberg says, "the most important innovation in Rembrandt's mature graphic work."

From Rembrandt's Etching Technique: An Example by Morse, Peter