John Taylor Arms Art
American, 1887-1953
John Taylor Arms was born in Washington, D.C., in 1887. Arms studied architecture at Princeton and MIT and later became the country’s finest etcher of his age. His renderings of European and American architectural subjects are not only beautiful, but they are unrivaled in their technical virtuosity and nuanced light. In a recent exhibit, the Cleveland Museum noted, Arms believed that art could be a tool for the spiritual and moral improvement of mankind and that Gothic cathedrals represented the most significant expression of man’s aspirations. He viewed printmaking as a vehicle for disseminating images of subjects that would uplift and inspire contemporary society. He served as President of the Society of American Etchers and as an ambassador for American printmakers and printmaking throughout the world.
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Artist: John Taylor Arms
John Taylor Arms, Battle Wagon
By John Taylor Arms
Located in New York, NY
John Taylor Arms was known for making such finely drawn etchings that commercial tools were not good enough: He regularly used sewing needles with corks for handles. Made during Worl...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Realist John Taylor Arms Art
Materials
Etching
Rodez; The Tower of Notre Dame
By John Taylor Arms
Located in Middletown, NY
Etching on antique wove Catalunya-Spain watermarked paper, 12 x 5 inches (305 x 127 mm), full margins. Signed and dated in pencil, lower margin. In excellent condition with light ton...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Modern John Taylor Arms Art
Materials
Etching, Handmade Paper
Lescure, Une Tour Des Remparts
By John Taylor Arms
Located in Middletown, NY
Etching on antique laid paper, 6 9/16 x 3 15/16 inches (167 x 100 mm), signed and dated in pencil, lower margin. Potentially a trial proof impression aside from the unsigned edition of 1459. Non-archival tape residue along the top and bottom sheet edges, recto, well outside of image area. Scattered handling creases and general scattered soiling in the margins, minor and unobtrusive.
[Fletcher 217].
This work was commissioned by The Architectural Forum...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Modern John Taylor Arms Art
Materials
Laid Paper, Handmade Paper, Etching
La Tour D'Horloge, Dinan
By John Taylor Arms
Located in Middletown, NY
tching on green-hued antique laid Japon paper, 9 7/16 x 4 1/16 (240 x 104 mm), full margins. Signed, dated and inscribed "Ed. 100 II." One of a total edition on 124 impressions, prin...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Modern John Taylor Arms Art
Materials
Handmade Paper, Laid Paper, Etching
Plumed Serpent, Chichén Itzá
By John Taylor Arms
Located in Middletown, NY
A masterful rendering of Kukulkan at the base of the west face of the northern stairway of El Castillo, Chichen Itza.
Eching on antique cream laid paper with a partial herladic wate...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Modern John Taylor Arms Art
Materials
Laid Paper, Handmade Paper, Etching
Cathedral of Saint Cyr and Saint Julitta, Nevers
By John Taylor Arms
Located in Middletown, NY
Etching on antique cream laid paper, 12 7/8 x 5 1/2 inches (328 x 140 mm), full margins. Signed in pencil, lower margin. Laid down to non-archival board, general age tone and some ma...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Modern John Taylor Arms Art
Materials
Handmade Paper, Laid Paper, Etching
Somewhere in France
By John Taylor Arms
Located in Middletown, NY
Etching on antique cream laid paper with a partial watermark (likely Arches), 12 1/8 x 6 1/8 inches (308 x 156 mm), full margins. Signed and dated in pencil in the lower right margin...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Modern John Taylor Arms Art
Materials
Handmade Paper, Laid Paper, Etching
Saint Catherine's Belfry, Honfleur
By John Taylor Arms
Located in Middletown, NY
Etching on elaborately watermarked, antique, cream laid Dard Hunter paper, 13 5/8 x 7 1/78 inches (347 x 181 mm), full margins. Signed, titled, dated and inscribed "Ed. 100 II." From...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Modern John Taylor Arms Art
Materials
Laid Paper, Handmade Paper, Etching
Gloria, Saint Riquier; The Church of Saint Riquier; Gloria Ecclesiae Antiquae
By John Taylor Arms
Located in Middletown, NY
Etching on antique cream laid paper with an "England" watermark; 13 7/8 x 8 5/8 inches (353 x 221 mm), full margins. Signed, dated, titled, numbered "III," and inscribed in pencil. O...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Modern John Taylor Arms Art
Materials
Handmade Paper, Etching, Laid Paper
Sunlight on Stone; Caudebec-en-Caux
By John Taylor Arms
Located in Middletown, NY
An extremely scarce impression from the artist's own collection.
Etching on watermarked antique laid J Whatman Japon paper, 14 1/2 x 7 5/8 inches ( 368 x 195 mm), full margins. Signe...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Modern John Taylor Arms Art
Materials
Handmade Paper, Laid Paper, Etching
The Church of St. Francis and the Natizone; Cividale
By John Taylor Arms
Located in Middletown, NY
1931. Etching on antique laid Japon paper, 10 x 14 13/16 inches (254 x 377 mm), full margins. Signed in pencil and inscribed "Ed. 100" (from a total edition of 128). Third state (of ...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Modern John Taylor Arms Art
Materials
Laid Paper, Handmade Paper, Etching
Abbeville; St. Vulfran
By John Taylor Arms
Located in Middletown, NY
Etching on cream wove Japon paper, 7 3/8 x 7 3/4 inches (188 x 197 mm), full margins. Signed and dated in pencil, lower margin. In excellent condition with some minor surface soiling...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Modern John Taylor Arms Art
Materials
Etching, Handmade Paper
"Crystal and Jade" Still Life Lithograph in Ink on Paper
By John Taylor Arms
Located in Soquel, CA
"Crystal and Jade" Still Life Lithograph in Ink on Paper
Delicate and detailed lithograph of a crystal glass and jade vase by John Taylor Arms (American, 1887-1953). On the left side of the composition, there is a crystal martini glass, with intricate designs. Next to it is a jade vase or urn, with a carved surface. They are sitting on an ornate tablecloth, with a strand of beads, possibly a rosary.
Numbered ("VI"), inscribed with a dedication ("To Georgiana Brewer and Jasper S. Mathews Jr from Dorothy and John Taylor Arms"), signed ("John Taylor Arms"), and dated ("1940") along the bottom edge.
Presented in a wood frame with an off-white mat.
Frame size: 16.5"H x 14.75"W
Image size: 8.5"H x 7.25"W
John Taylor Arms was born in Washington, DC in 1887. He studied law at Princeton University, transferring to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, to study architecture, graduating in 1912. After serving as an officer in the United States Navy during World War I, he devoted himself full-time to etching. He published his first original etchings in 1919.
His initial subject was the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City near which he worked. Arms developed a successful career as a graphic artist in the 1920s and 1930s, specializing in series of etchings of Gothic churches and cathedrals in France and Italy. In addition to medieval subjects, Arms made a series of prints of American cities.
He used sewing needles and magnifying glasses to get a fine level of detail. A member of many printmaking societies, Arms served as president of the Society of American Graphic Artists. An educator, Arms wrote the Handbook of Print Making and Print Makers (1934) and did numerous demonstrations and lectures. Arms was elected into the National Academy of Design as an Associate member in 1930, and became a full member in 1933. His work was also part of the painting event in the art competition at the 1932 Summer Olympics...
Category
1940s Victorian John Taylor Arms Art
Materials
Ink, Lithograph, Paper
MEMENTO VIVARE, NOTRE DAME, EVREUX
By John Taylor Arms
Located in Portland, ME
Arms, John Taylor (American, 1887-1953). MEMENTO VIVARE, NOTRE DAME, EVREUX. Fletcher 407. Etching, 1947. Number 47 of the French Church Series. This is Proof No. ii of four Trial Pr...
Category
1940s John Taylor Arms Art
Materials
Etching
"Church of St. Aignan Chartres" Etching in Ink on Paper (Demonstration Plate)
By John Taylor Arms
Located in Soquel, CA
"Church of St. Aignan Chartres" Etching in Ink on Paper (Demonstration Plate)
Delicate and detailed drypoint etching of the Church of St. Aignan in Chartres, France by John Taylor Arms (American, 1887-1953). The viewer stands in an alley near the church, looking out of the shadows at the sunlit towers. The architectural details of the church are well-captured, including the texture of the stone walls, the roof, and ornamental detail.
Titled, signed, dated, and inscribed along the bottom edge:
Sketch, Saint Aignon, Chartres John Taylor Arms 1950
The inscription includes details about production, as well as a dedication "To my friends Georgia and Jasper Mathews, with my sincerest good wishes"
Presented in a wood frame with an off-white mat.
Frame size: 12.5"H x 9.25"W
Image size: 7"H x 4.5"W
John Taylor Arms was born in Washington, DC in 1887. He studied law at Princeton University, transferring to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, to study architecture, graduating in 1912. After serving as an officer in the United States Navy during World War I, he devoted himself full-time to etching. He published his first original etchings in 1919.
His initial subject was the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City near which he worked. Arms developed a successful career as a graphic artist in the 1920s and 1930s, specializing in series of etchings of Gothic churches and cathedrals in France and Italy. In addition to medieval subjects, Arms made a series of prints of American cities.
He used sewing needles and magnifying glasses to get a fine level of detail. A member of many printmaking societies, Arms served as president of the Society of American Graphic Artists. An educator, Arms wrote the Handbook of Print Making and Print Makers (1934) and did numerous demonstrations and lectures. Arms was elected into the National Academy of Design as an Associate member in 1930, and became a full member in 1933. His work was also part of the painting event in the art competition at the 1932 Summer Olympics...
Category
1940s Victorian John Taylor Arms Art
Materials
Ink, Etching, Drypoint, Paper
Precious Stones; Église Notre Dame - Les Andelys
By John Taylor Arms
Located in Middletown, NY
A signed impression from the artist's own collection.
Kansas City: Miniature Print Society, 1946.
Etching on antique cream laid paper, 3 5/15 x 1 7/8 inches (84 x 49 mm), full margi...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Modern John Taylor Arms Art
Materials
Handmade Paper, Laid Paper, Etching
On Lake Como # 1
By John Taylor Arms
Located in New Orleans, LA
Both of Arms' Lake Como images were mostly printed in color. is a rarer black and white impression,
John Taylor Arms was born in Washington, DC. He studied architecture at the Massa...
Category
Early 20th Century American Modern John Taylor Arms Art
Materials
Etching
Street in Porto Maurizio
By John Taylor Arms
Located in Middletown, NY
Etching on antique cream laid paper with a partial watermark, 9 5/8 x 4 1/4 inches (246 x 109 mm); full margins. Signed and dated "1928" in pencil, lower margin. Inscribed "Street in Porto Maurizio...
Category
1920s American Modern John Taylor Arms Art
Materials
Handmade Paper, Laid Paper, Etching
Notre Dame du Val, Provins / Thibaut
By John Taylor Arms
Located in Middletown, NY
Etching on bluish-grey wove paper, 8 5/8 x 5 1/8 inches (221 x 130 mm), full margins. Signed and dated in pencil. In good condition with light mat tone on the recto and various frame...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Modern John Taylor Arms Art
Materials
Handmade Paper, Laid Paper, Etching
The Grolier Club Library (Sketch)
By John Taylor Arms
Located in Middletown, NY
Etching on cream laid paper, 3 7/8 x 5 7/8 inches (99 x 150 mm), full margins. Signed, dated, and inscribed "Sketch Grolier Club Library Demonstration Print," and numbered "I" in pen...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Modern John Taylor Arms Art
Materials
Handmade Paper, Laid Paper, Etching
La Rue de Change, Tours
By John Taylor Arms
Located in Middletown, NY
Etching on antique cream laid paper, 5 x 2 inches (127 x 52 mm), full margins. Signed and dated in pencil lower margin. From the editoin of 156, printed by Frederick Reynolds. In s...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Modern John Taylor Arms Art
Materials
Handmade Paper, Etching
Corbel on Gate House, Stokesay Castle, Shropshire
By John Taylor Arms
Located in Middletown, NY
Etching on cream laid paper, 3 3/16 x 1 9 1/6 inches (81 x 41 mm), full margins. Signed, dated, and inscribed "II" in pencil, lower margin. From the second state (of 2) before the re...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Modern John Taylor Arms Art
Materials
Handmade Paper, Laid Paper, Etching
Corbel on Gate House, Stokesay Castle, Shropshire Corbel
By John Taylor Arms
Located in Middletown, NY
Etching on cream wove paper, 3 3/16 x 1 9/16 inches (81 x 41 mm), full margins. Signed, dated, and inscribed "II" in pencil, lower margin, and with an inscription and dedication in t...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Modern John Taylor Arms Art
Materials
Handmade Paper, Laid Paper, Etching
Fiesole: An Ancient Tower
By John Taylor Arms
Located in Middletown, NY
Etching on antique cream laid paper, 7 7/8 x 5 1/8 inches (201 x 130 mm), full margins. Edition of 150. Printed by Federick Reynolds. Signed and dated in pencil, lower right. Arms wa...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Modern John Taylor Arms Art
Materials
Laid Paper, Handmade Paper, Etching
Cavendish Church
By John Taylor Arms
Located in Middletown, NY
Etching on bluish-grey, thin laid paper, 9 1/2 x 5 1/2 inches (242 x 140 mm), full margins. Signed, dated and numbered "II." In very good condition with three pin-point sized dots of...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Modern John Taylor Arms Art
Materials
Handmade Paper, Laid Paper, Etching
Dorothy and John Taylor Arms M.D. MCMXXV
By John Taylor Arms
Located in Middletown, NY
Etching on cream wove paper 5 7/8 x 3 3/8 inches (150 x 86 mm). Signed and dated in pencil in the lower margin. First state (of 2), before the removal of the inscription in the lowe...
Category
1920s John Taylor Arms Art
Materials
Handmade Paper, Etching
Portait of a Romanesque Capital
By John Taylor Arms
Located in Middletown, NY
Etching on light cream wove paper, 2 5/8 x 2 11/16 inches (68 x 69 mm), full margins. Signed, titled, and inscribed "IV" in pencil, lower margin. Likely a proof impression of the t...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Modern John Taylor Arms Art
Materials
Handmade Paper, Etching
Street in Porto Maurizio
By John Taylor Arms
Located in Middletown, NY
Etching on antique handmade laid paper, 9 5/8 x 4 1/4 inches (246 x 109 mm), full margins. Signed and dated (1928) in pencil, lower margin. Printed by Frederick Reynolds. In very goo...
Category
1920s American Modern John Taylor Arms Art
Materials
Handmade Paper, Etching
Precious Stones – South Transeptal Portal, Church of Notre Dame des Andelys
By John Taylor Arms
Located in Middletown, NY
Etching on cream wove paper 3 5/16 x 1 7/8 inches (84 x 49 mm), full margins. Signed, dated and inscribed "II" in pencil, lower margin. Likely one of eight trial proof impressions f...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Modern John Taylor Arms Art
Materials
Etching, Handmade Paper
Shadows in Mexico
By John Taylor Arms
Located in Middletown, NY
Etching on bluish-grey, antique laid paper, 5 x 3 5/8 inches (127 x 93 mm), signed, dated, and inscribed "III" in pencil, lower margin. A proof impression from the third state (of 3)...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Modern John Taylor Arms Art
Materials
Laid Paper, Etching
Stokesay Castle
By John Taylor Arms
Located in Middletown, NY
The Minature Print Society of Kansas City, Mo. , 1942.
Etching on cream colored Japon wove paper, 2 1/4 x 2 15/16 inches (58 x 75 mm), full margins. Signed, dated and inscribed "II"...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Modern John Taylor Arms Art
Materials
Handmade Paper, Etching
Eglise Notre Dame, Les Andelys
By John Taylor Arms
Located in Middletown, NY
Etching and drypoint on greenish cream wove paper, 3 1/4 x 1 15/16 inches (81 x 48 mm), full margins. Signed, dated, and inscribed "III" in pencil. Number 46 from the French Churche...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Modern John Taylor Arms Art
Materials
Handmade Paper, Etching
Stranger in England, St. Lawrence, West Wycombe, Buckinghamshire
By John Taylor Arms
Located in Middletown, NY
Etching on cream wove paper, 5 9/16 x 2 3/4 inches (142 x 70 mm), full margins. Signed, titled, numbered "III," and inscribed in pencil by the artist in the lower margin, recto. In v...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Modern John Taylor Arms Art
Materials
Handmade Paper, Etching
Old Corner, Rouen
By John Taylor Arms
Located in Middletown, NY
Etching on cream wove paper, 6 x 4 inches (153 x 102 mm), full margins. Signed in pencil, lower margin. From the edition of 150, printed by Frederick Reynolds.
[Fletcher 163]
This ...
Category
Early 20th Century American Modern John Taylor Arms Art
Materials
Handmade Paper, Etching
Basilica of Madeleine, Vezelay
By John Taylor Arms
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Basilica of Madeleine, Vezelay
Etching, 1929
Signed and dated lower right (see photo)
Annotated: "Third State" lower left
Printed on a sheet of old book paper
From: French Church Ser...
Category
1920s American Realist John Taylor Arms Art
Materials
Etching
Black and White Etching -- Rodez
By John Taylor Arms
Located in Troy, NY
This detailed etching depicts Notre Dame in France. The foreground shows an alleyway, with cracking and peeling buildings, plants climbing the walls, and a shifting stone road. Each ...
Category
1920s Realist John Taylor Arms Art
Materials
Etching, Paper
From the Ponte Vecchio, Florence
By John Taylor Arms
Located in Middletown, NY
Etching and aquatint on hand made F.J. Head & Co watermarked cream laid paper, full margins. Signed and dated in pencil, lower right margin. From the edition of 160 (from a total of ...
Category
1920s American Modern John Taylor Arms Art
Materials
Handmade Paper, Laid Paper, Etching, Aquatint
The Gargoyle and His Quarry
By John Taylor Arms
Located in Storrs, CT
The Gargoyle and His Quarry, Notre Dame. 1920. Etching.Fletcher 90. 7 1/8 x 5 1/4 (sheet 10 1/2 x 9 1/16). Gargoyle series #1. Edition 75. A rich impression printed on 'FJHead&Co' c...
Category
1920s American Modern John Taylor Arms Art
Materials
Drypoint, Etching
The Gothic Spirit
By John Taylor Arms
Located in Storrs, CT
The Gothic Spirit (also called A Gargoyle, A Gothic Spirit). 1922. Etching and stipple. Fletcher 120. 11 5/8 x 7 (sheet 15 1/4 x 11 1/4). Gargoyle Series #8. Edition 130. Illustrated...
Category
1920s American Modern John Taylor Arms Art
Materials
Drypoint, Etching
DOWNTOWN, NEW YORK
By John Taylor Arms
Located in Portland, ME
Arms, John Taylor (American, 1887-1953). DOWNTOWN, NEW YORK. F.108. Etching and Aquatint, 1921. Edition of 75. Numbered 19/75 and signed and dated 1921, all in pencil. 8 3/8 x 4 7/8 inches, 214 x 125 mm (plate) plus margins. Framed to 16 1/4 x 12 1/2 inches with the label of The Old Print Shop...
Category
1920s John Taylor Arms Art
Materials
Etching, Aquatint
The Grolier Club Library (Sketch), Demonstration Print
By John Taylor Arms
Located in Middletown, NY
Etching on light yellow cream laid paper with deckle edges, full margins. Inscribed in the image "Library of the Grolier Club, Demonstration Plate, Drawn, Etched and Printed in a Li...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Modern John Taylor Arms Art
Materials
Laid Paper, Etching
THE ARCH OF THE CONCA, PERUGIA
By John Taylor Arms
Located in Portland, ME
Arms, John Taylor. ARCH OF THE CONCA, PERUGIA. Etching, 1926. 10 1/4" x 14 5/8 plus margins. Framed to 18 x 22 inches. Signed in pencil and annotated "Trial Proof No. 6"; only state...
Category
1920s John Taylor Arms Art
Materials
Etching
Fiesole, an Ancient Tower
By John Taylor Arms
Located in Middletown, NY
Etching on antique cream laid paper, 7 7/8 x 5 1/8 inches (201 x 130 mm), full margins. Edition of 150. Printed by Federick Reynolds. Signed and dated in pencil, lower right. Arms wa...
Category
Early 20th Century American Modern John Taylor Arms Art
Materials
Handmade Paper, Laid Paper, Etching
Shadows of Venice
By John Taylor Arms
Located in Middletown, NY
Etching and aquatint on antique laid paper, wide margins. Signed, dated and inscribed "Edition of 100" in pencil, lower margin. Second state (of 2)....
Category
Mid-20th Century American Modern John Taylor Arms Art
Materials
Aquatint, Laid Paper, Etching
Rouen; The Cathedral of Notre Dame from the South
By John Taylor Arms
Located in Middletown, NY
Etching on F.J. Head & Co. watermarked cream laid paper, 8 1/8 x 7 5/8 (205 x 184 mm), full margins. Signed and dated in pencil, lower margin. Illustrated in Dorothy Noyes Arms, Chur...
Category
1920s American Modern John Taylor Arms Art
Materials
Laid Paper, Etching
San Marino (Sketch)
By John Taylor Arms
Located in Middletown, NY
Ecthing in black ink on cream laid paper with a partial watermark, full margins. In excellent condition. A very scarce work from an edition of less than 20 impressions. Signed, date...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Modern John Taylor Arms Art
Materials
Laid Paper, Etching
Chartres, The Magnificent
By John Taylor Arms
Located in Middletown, NY
Etching on handmade cream laid paper, 3 1/2 x 4 1/4 inches (890 x 108 mm), full margins. Signed, dated and inscribed "III" in pencil, lower margin. Edition of 150, third state (of th...
Category
Early 20th Century American Modern John Taylor Arms Art
Materials
Laid Paper, Etching
From Knoedler's Window MCMXXXV
By John Taylor Arms
Located in Storrs, CT
From Knoedler's Window MCMXXV. 1935. Etching and Aquatint. Fletcher catalog 293 stateiv/v. Image: 5 1/16 x 4 15/16 (sheet 12/7/8 x 9 1/8). Edition 271 in this state (total edition 3...
Category
1920s American Modern John Taylor Arms Art
Materials
Aquatint, Etching
Guardians of the Spire; Amiens Cathedral Number 2
By John Taylor Arms
Located in Middletown, NY
Guardians of the Spire; Amiens Cathedral Number 2
New York: 1937. Etching and drypoint on watermarked F.J. Head cream-colored, antique laid paper, 6 3/4 ...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Modern John Taylor Arms Art
Materials
Drypoint, Etching
Porta del Paradiso, Venezia
By John Taylor Arms
Located in Middletown, NY
Etching on cream laid paper, 1930. 7 1/2 x 3 7/8 inches (190 x 970 mm), full margins. Signed and inscribed "Edition 100" in pencil, lower margin. In very good condition with minor s...
Category
Early 20th Century American Modern John Taylor Arms Art
Materials
Laid Paper, Etching
Coutances
By John Taylor Arms
Located in Middletown, NY
Etching on thin, bluish-green cream laid paper, 9 1/4 x 4 3/4 inches (233 x 120 mm), full margins. Signed and dated in pencil, lower margin. First and only state. Printed by Frederi...
Category
Early 20th Century American Modern John Taylor Arms Art
Materials
Laid Paper, Etching
The Church of St. Francis and the Natizone – Cividale
By John Taylor Arms
Located in Middletown, NY
Etching on antique cream laid paper, 10 x 14 13/16 inches (254 x 377 mm), full margins. Signed in pencil and inscribed "Ed. 100" (from a total edition of 128). Third state (of three...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Modern John Taylor Arms Art
Materials
Laid Paper, Etching
Racamadour (French Church Series #10)
By John Taylor Arms
Located in Myrtle Beach, SC
'Rocamadour' (French Church Series # 10), etching, 1927, edition 50, Fletcher 186. Signed, dated, and annotated 'First State' in pencil. Titled and dated 'Rocamadour 1926' in the plate, bottom right. A superb, finely detailed impression, in dark brown ink, on buff laid Japan paper, with full margins (1 to 1 7/8 inches), in excellent condition.
Image size 13 3/4 x 10 inches (349 x 254 mm); sheet size 15 3/4 x 13 5/8 inches (400 x 346 mm). Matted to museum standards, unframed.
Literature: illustrated in Dorothy Noyes Arms, 'Churches of France', The Macmillan Company, 1929.
Impressions of this work are in the permanent collections of the Blanton Museum of Art, Chrysler Museum of Art, Cleveland Museum of Art, Davis Museum (Wellesley), McNay Art Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design Museum, and the Whitney Museum of Art.
ABOUT THE SUBJECT
Rocamadour is a small clifftop village in south-central France. It is known for the Cité Réligieuse complex of religious buildings, accessed via the Grand Escalier staircase. It includes the Chapelle Notre-Dame, with its Black Madonna statue, and the Romanesque-Gothic Basilica of St-Sauveur.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
“John Taylor Arms will live on and on and future generations centuries from now will marvel at his work... . As a friend and as a man, he fully matched his superb work.” —John Winkler, printmaker
Born in Washington, D.C. in 1887, John Taylor Arms attended the Lawrenceville School and began the study of law at Princeton University. In 1907, he transferred to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and took up the study of architecture. Arms evolved his unique drafting style, with its highly realistic, precise detail and exquisitely rendered effects of light, from his experience and practice as an architectural student. He graduated in 1911 and completed a master’s degree the following year. He then worked as a draftsman with the well-known Carrere and Hastings Company in New York.
In 1913 Arms was given a hobbyist’s etching set, and he began to dabble with copperplate and acid. In 1915, after copying a handful of prints by Jongkind and other Etching Revivalists, Arms created his first original etching. His early experiments were picturesque views of European villages, reflecting the influence of Whistler. He inked and printed several of these plates in color in the manner of Charles Mielatz...
Category
1920s American Realist John Taylor Arms Art
Materials
Etching
Palazzo dell'Angelo
By John Taylor Arms
Located in Middletown, NY
Palazzo dell'Angelo
1931
Etching and drypoint on cream-colored, handmade laid paper with deckle edges, 7 1/4 x 6 3/4 inches (185 x 171 mm), edition of 100, full margins. Signed, dated and numbered "Ed. 100" in pencil, lower margin, second state (of three). Printed by Henry Carling, New York. Extremely minor mat tone and some inky residue in the top right corner, all unobtrusive and well outside of image area. An exquisite impression of this intricate image, with astonishing detail, and all the fine lines printing clearly. The image represents the first print which Arms printed on his own handmade paper. Framed handsomely with archival materials and museum grade glass in a wood gilt frame with a flower and garland motif.
Illustrated: Dorothy Noyes Arms, Hill Towns and Cities of Northern Italy, p. 180; Anderson, American Etchers Abroad 1880-1930; Eric Denker, Reflections & Undercurrents: Ernest Roth and Printmaking in Venice, 1900-1940, p. 116.
[Fletcher 233]
Born in 1887 in Washington DC, John Taylor Arms studied at Princeton University, and ultimately earned a degree in architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1912. With the outbreak of W.W.I, Arms served as an officer in the United States Navy, and it was during this time that he turned his focus to printmaking, having published his first etching in 1919. His first subjects were the Brooklyn Bridge, near the Navy Yard, and it was during his wartime travel that Arms created a series of extraordinarily detailed etchings based on Gothic cathedrals and churches he visited in France and Italy. He used what was available to him, namely sewing needles and a magnifying glass, to create the incredibly rich and fine detail that his etchings are known for. Upon his return to New York after the war, Arms enjoyed a successful career as a graphic artist, created a series of etchings of American cities, and published Handbook of Print Making and Print Makers (Macmillan, 1934). He served as President of the Society of American Graphic Artists, and in 1933, was made a full member of the National Academy of Design.
In its most modern incarnation, Palazzo dell'Angelo was constructed in or around 1570. The building, which has a rich and storied history, was erected upon the ruins of an earlier structure which predates the Gothic period. Some remnants of the earliest features of the residence were most certainly still visible when Arms visited, as they are today. Having a background in architecture, there's no question that Arms was moved by the beauty, history and ingenuity represented in the physical structure. One thing specifically gives away Arms's passion for the architecture, and that is the fact that he focused on the building's Moorish entranceway, balustrade, and two mullioned windows, and not on the curious Gothic era bas-relief of an angel nestled into the facade of the building, after which the structure is named. The sculpture itself doesn't appear in Arms's composition at all, despite the fact that it is the feature of the building that is most famous in its folklore. Arms instead focuses on the oldest portion of the architecture, even documenting some of the remnants of a fresco, and a funerary stele for the freedman Tito Mestrio Logismo, and his wife Mestria Sperata (visible above the water level, to the left of the door, behind the gondola), which was first described in 1436.
Among the many notable bits of history regarding the Palazzo, it has been documented that Tintoretto painted frescos of battle scenes on the facade of the building. The paintings have been lost to time and the elements, but not entirely to history. The empty frame...
Category
1930s American Modern John Taylor Arms Art
Materials
Drypoint, Etching
La Bella Venezia
By John Taylor Arms
Located in Middletown, NY
(New York: John Taylor Arms, 1930)
Etching on antique cream laid paper with a fancy "G" watermark, 7 1/8 x 16 1/2 inches (182 x 442 mm), full margins. Signed, dated and inscribed "Ed. 70" in pencil, lower margin. From a total edirion of 81 plus 5 trial proofs. Printed by Henry E. Carling. Number 18 from the Italian Series. A superb impression of this scarce print, with all of the subtleties and details of the reflections in the water printing clearly. [Fletcher 232]
[Illustrated: Page 192, Arms, Dorothy Noyes, "Hilltowns and Cities of Northern Italy"].
Along with his constant companion and wife, Dorothy Noyes, Arms spent decades exploring and documenting gothic structures throughout Europe. Noyes, an accomplished travel writer, had gifted Arms an etching set...
Category
1930s American Modern John Taylor Arms Art
Materials
Etching
Out of My Window. (Vista; My Own; De Ma Fenêtre)
By John Taylor Arms
Located in Storrs, CT
Out of My Window. (Vista; My Own; De Ma Fenêtre). 1916. Etching. Fletcher 4, Library of Congress 254. 7 x 5 9/16 (sheet 9 3/8 x 9 1/2). Edition 75. Good condition apart from two re...
Category
20th Century American Modern John Taylor Arms Art
Materials
Etching
Guardians of the Spire (Amiens Cathedral Number 2)
By John Taylor Arms
Located in Storrs, CT
Guardians of the Spire (Amiens Cathedral Number 2). 1921. Etching. Fletcher 102. 6 3/4 x 9 7/8 (sheet 8 7/8 x 13 3/4). Gargoyle Series #4. Edition 75. Illustrated: Dorothy Noyes Arms...
Category
1920s American Modern John Taylor Arms Art
Materials
Drypoint, Etching
From the Ponte Vecchio
By John Taylor Arms
Located in Storrs, CT
From the Ponte Vecchio, Florence. 1925. Etching and aquatint. Fletcher catalog 159. state ii. Image: 11 1/8 x 15 1/4 (sheet 13 3/8 x 18 1/4). Edition 160 in this state (total edition...
Category
1930s American Modern John Taylor Arms Art
Materials
Etching, Aquatint
John Taylor Arms art for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a wide variety of authentic John Taylor Arms art available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by John Taylor Arms in etching, paper, handmade paper and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 20th century and is mostly associated with the modern style. Not every interior allows for large John Taylor Arms art, so small editions measuring 2 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of David Klein, Will Barnet, and Joseph Pennell. John Taylor Arms art prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $146 and tops out at $6,500, while the average work can sell for $850.