Picture in Focus: The Hem of His Garment by Earl Stetson Crawford

May 10, 2020

Picture in Focus: The Hem of His Garment by Earl Stetson Crawford

This week's image of Jesus the Healer from the Sacred Art Pilgrim Collection illustrates one of the more intriguing accounts of his ministry of restoration, found in all three of the Synoptic Gospels. Jesus is making his way through a crowd to bring life to the daughter of Jairus, when he comes to a sudden halt. He senses "power has gone out from him," as the narratives put it, and turns to find a woman trembling with fear at his feet. She has just been cured of a chronic hemorraghing disorder because she had the humility to believe it would be enough just to touch the edge of his robe. In this preliminary sketch for an etching, American Graphic Artist Earl Stetson Crawford depicts the moment when Christ turns to the women healed of the "issue of blood" with the immortal words: "Thy faith hath made thee whole (Matthew 9: 22, KJV)." Both the drawing and finished print are on view on the Earl Stetson Crawford page in the Sacred Artists Section. (John Kohan