Reginald Marsh
Irving Place Burlesk
1929

Name: Irving Place Burlesk
Brand: Reginald Marsh
Price: 7500 USD
Availability: InStock

About the Item

Reginald Marsh (1898-1954), Irving Place Burlesk, etching, 1929, signed in pencil lower right and numbered (18) lower left. Reference: Sasowsky 75, third state (of 3). In very good condition, with margins (trimmed by Marsh in his usual fashion, i.e., slightly unevenly), on an ivory laid paper; 7 1/8 x 9 3/4, the sheet 8 5/8 x 10 3/4 inches. Archival mounting with window mat, unattached mylar hinging. A suberb impression, printed by the artist in black ink on an ivory paper. In contrast to many of his famed burlesque prints Marsh here focuses almost entirely on the audience – men smiling and frowning, smoking cigars and pipes, talking or concentrating – and on the theatre itself – the elaborate stage boxes and curtains. These features are etched in strong black ink; the etching of the dancer at the far left is as light, and as ephemeral, as her outfit. This impression was printed personally by Marsh. In Thomas Craven’s Treasury of American Prints (1939), Marsh is quoted as saying in response to a question about the size of his editions: “Since I do practically all my own printing, I do not limit the edition. The buyer limits the edition – he rarely buys, I rarely print. I usually print fifteen or twenty and sell one or two in the next five years – so why limit the edition?” (That was in 1939; today of course Marsh’s etchings are treasured as icons of American printmaking in the ’20’s and 30’s.)

Creator:

Reginald Marsh (1898-1954, American)

Creation Year:

1929

Medium:

Etching

Movement & Style:

American Realist

Period:

1920-1929

Condition:

Gallery Location:

New York, NY

Reference Number:

1stDibs: LU51531493003

View Invoice

Shop All Reginald Marsh

Reginald Marsh

Reginald Marsh was born in Paris, France, in 1898. His family returned to the U.S. in 1900, settling in New Jersey. The Marsh family moved to New Rochelle, New York, in 1914, where Reginald attended the Riverview Military Academy until 1915. Marsh spent his senior year at the Lawrenceville School where he drew for the school's annual. Marsh then attended Yale School of Art in 1916–20 where he became the star illustrator for The Yale Record and, later, its art editor. In his newspaper work Marsh exhibited a graphic skill and a gift for pictorial humor.

On graduating from Yale in 1920, Marsh moved to New York City where he supported himself as a freelance illustrator for newspapers and magazines, such as Vanity Fair and Harper's Bazaar. In 1922, Marsh became a staff artist for The Daily News, first drawing city life and then a column of vaudeville illustrations. When The New Yorker began in 1925, Marsh became a staff member, contributing through 1931. These illustration jobs provided Marsh with a good income and a great amount of free time, which allowed him to study painting at the Art Students League on and off through the 1920s with Kenneth Hayes Miller, John Sloan and George Luks. When Marsh began to paint in earnest in 1923, he joined the Whitney Studio Club, where he had one-man exhibitions in 1924 and 1928.

In the early 1920s Marsh made his first trip to Coney Island on a project for Vanity Fair. He was instantly drawn to the raucous environment of extremes, capturing the boardwalks, beaches and sideshows in his sketchbooks. Marsh often remained in New York for the summer to spend time at Coney Island. The rest of the year Marsh painted industrial subjects. He also enjoyed recording the physical and social life of a newly commercialized city, focusing on taxi-dance halls, burlesque, Coney Island, subways and the Bowery.

In 1929 Marsh took a studio near Union Square in New York where he remained for most of his life, roaming the streets with his sketchbook. The same sketches he worked up for his newspaper and magazine illustrations found their way into his paintings.

The 1930s and 1940s were very successful for Marsh. He exhibited in most of the annual exhibitions of contemporary American art at the Whitney Museum of American Art (1924–54), the Corcoran Gallery of Art (1932–57), the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (1932–52), the Art Institute of Chicago (1928–49) and the National Academy of Design (1927–49). He also had many one-man exhibitions at the Frank K. Rehn Galleries in New York.

Marsh began teaching at the Art Students League in 1935 where he soon became one of the most popular teachers. In the spring of 1954, Marsh was chosen to receive the gold medal of the National Institute of Arts and Letters, an extremely high award in the American cultural world.

Find original Reginald Marsh prints, drawings and paintings on 1stDibs.