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Merv Corning was a self-taught artist who depicted a variety of subject matter, especially the America that he saw around him.
In 1973, Corning was approached by Circle Gallery to create original lithographs. He was inexperienced with the technique and decided to take a printmaking night class to learn how to do it himself, rather than rely on an outside artist.
For "Toy Sailors," Corning created 12 plates by drawing onto mylar with a variety of mediums such as ink, lithographic pencils, and liquid tusche. The 12 mylars were then chemically transferred onto emulsion-coated aluminum lithographic plates at The American Atelier in New York City. Corning preferred working on Mylar rather than stone or metal, as nothing is drawn in reverse. For every color used there was a separate Mylar drawing and lithographic plate, so aligning the drawings with the
plates was tedious and had to be close to perfect. From these plates proofs were pulled, corrected, approved, and signed by Corning. When the final edition was printed, the lithographic plates were destroyed. "Toy Sailors" gives us a glimpse into New York City’s Central Park, perhaps while Corning was there visiting The American Atelier.