Letterio Calapai. 1902-1993. Art

Paul Landacre, 'Hill', wood engraving, 1936, edition 60 (only 54 printed); only 2 impressions printed in a second edition of 150. Signed, titled, and numbered '49/60' in pencil. Wien...

Gustave Baumann, 'Taos Placita', color woodcut, 1947, edition 125. Baumann 132. Signed, titled, and numbered '20-125' in pencil; with the artist’s Hand-in-Heart chop. A superb, richly-inked impression, with fresh colors, on fibrous oatmeal wove paper; the full sheet with margins (2 to 3 1/8 inches); slight rippling at the left sheet edge, in excellent condition. Matted to museum standards, unframed. Image size 9 5/8 x 11 1/4 inches (244 x 286 mm); sheet size 13 1/4 x 17 inches (337 x 432 mm). Collections: New Mexico Museum of Art, Phoenix Art Museum, Wichita Art Museum. ABOUT THE ARTIST Gustave Baumann (1881-1971) was a renowned printmaker and a leading figure of the American color woodcut revival whose exquisite craftsmanship and vibrant imagery captured the essence of the Southwest. "A brilliant printmaker, Baumann brought to the medium a full mastery of the craft of woodworking that he acquired from his father, a German cabinetmaker. This craftsmanship was coupled with a strong artistic training that resulted in the handsome objects we see in the exhibition today. After discovering New Mexico in 1918, Baumann began to explore in his woodblock prints of this period the light. color, and architectural forms of that landscape. His prints of this period are among the most beautiful and poetic images of the American West." —Lewis I. Sharp, Director, Denver Art Museum Baumann, the son of a craftsman, immigrated to the United States from Germany with his family when he was ten, settling in Chicago. From 1897 to 1904, he studied in the evenings at the Art Institute of Chicago, working in a commercial printmaking shop during the day. In 1905, he returned to Germany to attend the Kunstwerbe Schule in Munich, where he decided on a career in printmaking. He returned to Chicago in 1906 and worked for a few years as a graphic designer of labels. Baumann made his first prints in 1909 and exhibited them at the Art Institute of Chicago the following year. In 1910, he moved to the artists’ colony in Nashville, Indiana, where he explored the creative and commercial possibilities of a career as a printmaker. In 1915, he exhibited his color woodcuts at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco, winning the gold medal. Among Baumann’s ongoing commercial activities was his work for the Packard Motor Car Company from 1914 to 1920 where he produced designs, illustrations, and color woodcuts until 1923. In 1919, Baumann’s printmaking work dominated the important exhibition of American color woodcuts at the Detroit Institute of Arts. Twenty-six of his prints were included, far more than the works of any other artist. A set of his blocks, a preparatory drawing, and seven progressive proofs complemented the exhibition. That same year, Baumann worked in New York and, over the summer, in Provincetown, Massachusetts. His airy images of Cape Cod employed soft, pastel colors and occasionally showed the influence of the white-line woodcut technique. Many of his Chicago artist friends had traveled to the southwest, and Baumann became intrigued by their paintings, souvenirs, and stories of an exotic place named Taos, New Mexico. In the summer of 1918, he spent the summer in Taos sketching and painting before visiting Santa Fe. Paul Walter, the director of the Museum of New Mexico, offered him a studio in the museum's basement. Inspired by the rugged beauty of the Southwest—the vibrant colors and dramatic landscapes of the region became a central theme in his work, influencing his artistic style and subject matter for the remainder of his career. Later in the decade, he traveled to the West Coast and made prints of California landscape. Baumann's prints became synonymous with the Southwest, capturing the spirit of its place in America's identity with a unique sense of authenticity and reverence. His iconic images of desert vistas, pueblo villages, and indigenous cultures served as visual tributes to the region's rich cultural heritage, earning him a dedicated following among collectors and curators alike. A true craftsman and artist, Baumann completed every step of the printmaking process himself, cutting each block, mixing the inks, and printing every impression on the handmade paper he selected. His dedication to true craftsmanship and his commitment to preserving the integrity of his artistic vision earned him widespread acclaim and recognition within the art world. About the vibrant colors he produced, Baumann stated, “A knowledge of color needs to be acquired since they don’t all behave the same way when ground or mixed...careful chemistry goes into the making of colors, with meticulous testing for permanence. While complicated formulae evolve new colors, those derived from Earth and metal bases are still the most reliable.” In the 1930s, Baumann became interested in puppet theater. He designed and carved his own marionettes and established a little traveling company. From 1943 to 1945, the artist carved an altarpiece for the Episcopal Church of the Holy Faith in Santa Fe. In 1952, a retrospective exhibition of his prints was mounted at the New Mexico Museum of Fine Arts. Throughout his prolific career, Baumann executed nearly four hundred color woodcuts. Baumann’s woodcuts...

Rudolph Ruzicka, 'Fountain of Sea Horses, Rome', wood engraving, c. 1915. Signed, dated, and titled in pencil. Initialed in the block, lower left. A fine, richly-inked impression, on...

More a wood engraving rather than a woodcut, Glintenkamp's Farmyard scene was given all the care and detail of the artist's more complex images. It is signed and numbered in pencil. ...

This Winslow Homer woodcut engraving entitled "Skating on the Ladies' Skating-Pond in Central Park, New York", was published in Harper's Weekly in the January 28, 1860 edition. It depicts a large number of men, women and children skating on a recently opened pond in Central Park. At the time of publication of this engraving, Central Park was in the early stages of construction. This engraving documents the very early appearance of Frederick Law Olmstead and Calvert Vaux's masterpiece of landscape design. According to Olmsted, the park was "of great importance as the first real Park made in this century – a democratic development of the highest significance". The people of New York were very proud of the plans for their park. It was stated at the time: "Our Park, which is progressing very satisfactorily under the management of the Commissioners, will undoubtedly be, one of these days, one of the finest place of the kind in the world...Those who saw the Park before the engineers went to work on it are amazed at the beautiful sites which have been contrived with such unpromising materials; all fair persons believe that the enterprise is managed with honesty and good taste." Skating was rapidly rising in national popularity in part due to the opening of Central Park’s lake to skaters on a Sunday in December 1858 with 300 participants. The following Sunday it attracted ten thousand skaters. By Christmas Day, a reported 50,000 people came to the park, most of them to skate. There were rules governing who could use the skating pond. “The Ladies’ Pond...

This artwork titled 'Winter Tracery (Milford Connecticut)" is an original drypoint etching by noted American artist Philip Kappel, 1901-1981. It is hand signed and titled in pencil by the artist. The plate mark (Image) size is 9 x 12 inches, framed size is 17.25 x 21.25 inches. Custom framed in a wooden light grey frame, with light grey matting and black color fillet. It is in excellent condition. About the artist: Philip Kappel — painter, illustrator, printer, writer, and lecturer — was born on February 10, 1901 in Hartford, CT and died in 1981. Kappel is best remembered for his landscapes, portraits, figures, marine, lithography, and etching. He held a teaching position with H. B. Snell, Boothbay, ME Studios, 1923 and 1924. His addresses in 1929 were 500 Fifth Avenue in New York City and, for the summer, care of Philip Little, 10 Chestnut Street, Salem, MA; and in 1935, Sarasota, FL. Kappel was a pupil of the Pratt Institute Art School in Brooklyn, NY and Philip Little (1857-1942) and held memberships with the North Shore Artists Association in Gloucester, MA; the Marblehead...

Louis Lozowick: 1892-1973. Very well listed American artist set decorator. He is well known for his urban prints of NYC and other big cities. He has had auction high results for a s...

The encounter is an artwork realized by Ferdinando Codognotto in 2023.  Woodcut based on stencil of 1971. 50 x 36 cm. Hand signed in the lower right margin. Good condition. 

Really a wood engraving rather than a woodcut, Henry R. Diamond's Whaler is majestic. It is signed and titled in pencil.

An original woodblock print dated 1965, titled "Our Town" but signed illegibly.

This artwork titled "Drenched (Lincoln Park, Chicago)" c.1960 is an original drypoint etching by noted Chicago artist James Swann, 1905-1985. It is hand s...

An original mid century modern woodblock print. This work is hand signed illegibly and titled "Wedding Party".