Strange though it may seem, sandpaper drawings weren't actually made on sandpaper.
These popular monochromatic charcoal (and sometimes pastel) drawings were done on prepared boards
that were painted white and then dusted with a gritty marble dust, giving them an eerie glittery sheen.
The medium was perfect for capturing night scenes, although subjects range from historical events
and Biblical stories to landscapes, architectural scenes and memorials (akin to those stitched in silk
or painted in watercolor). Amateurs of every stripe, including many schoolgirls, tried their hand at the craft,
 freely adapting print sources, so that even the most popular subject was never produced exactly the same way twice.
Sandpaper paintings were probably most widespread during the 1850s and 1860s.

Sandpaper paintings were many times removed from their original sources, most being based on prints that
were themselves based on paintings. The free interpretations of sandpaper artists seem sure to inspire contemporary
artists to do the same with who-knows-what results in the future.

N.F. KARLINS
from review of "Darkness Like a Dream", The Drawing Center, NYC