All prints are handmade by Peter Ralston on archival rag paper with an archival ink set.

Small Matted Prints - This collection is printed on 8.5 x 11 inch sheets, matted, ready to be framed.

Sightings - This limited edition (LE) collection of 64 images is from Peter's 1997 book, Sightings. This edition is limited to 25 prints of each image plus five artist proofs (AP). They are printed on 17 x 22 inch sheets.

The Master Prints - This limited edition (LE) print is limited to 50 prints of this image plus ten artist proofs (AP). They are printed on 24 x 36 inch sheets.

Custom sizes of this image are available by special request. 

The story behind Abandon

I came across these abandoned pediments on a small island not too far from home. Like so many other islands along the coast, it once had a thriving quarry, home to hundreds of stonecutters and their families.

Through the 19th century, the granite business was huge here; the stone itself was – and still is – renowned as particularly fine, and the schooners that took the cut stone to build great edifices to the south could sail right up to the bold island shores for loading. 

In the early twentieth century, when architects became enamored of new possibilities inherent in concrete, they stopped specifying granite and overnight – literally overnight in many cases – the quarries were abandoned and a way of life disappeared in a heartbeat.