Earl Purdy

Earl Purdy was a 20th century American wall and mural painter, architect and etcher. He lived and worked in New Rochelle, New York. In World War I he served in the US Navy and then studied architecture at Colgate, Cornell, and Columbia University. After graduation he worked for several architectural firms. He was also a member of the American Institute of Architects and the American Watercolor Society.

During the New Deal, Purdy produced a large-format pictorial map of the United States for the Public Works Department. The best work known by him is a series of 34 caricatures (18th century men painted in oil) hung in the lounge of the Hotel Washington, DC, located across the street from the White House.

In addition, several of his etchings with sports motifs became well known, including two of his 1932 entries Uppercut and Schmeling Down. Both were printed in a limited edition of 30 copies. The dimensions were 20 x 16 cm (plate)/26 x 21 cm (sheet) and 10 x 15 cm/27 x 23 cm, respectively. According to the artist’s subtitles, they show scenes from the world championship fight Max Schmeling against Jack Sharkey in 1930. The German went down after a forbidden low blow and won the title by disqualification of his opponent.

The third entry, The Wrist Lock, shows a scene from the professional wrestling match between Jim Londos (1894–1975) and Ray Steele (1900–1949) in Los Angeles in 1932, which ended in a draw. The print, also titled Wrestlers, measures 35.56 x 27.94 cm (sheet 30.32 x 23.66 cm).