Art by Medium: Mezzotint

The bus is delayed and the night is cold and rainy as a lone woman raises her umbrella to brave the shadowy walk home after giving up on her ride She has just left the bus shelter a...

In "Still Night", Frederick Mershimer depicts a row of brownstone houses on Seventh Avenue near Flatbush Avenue between Park and Stirling Places. Mershimer remembers that as he was ...

Sir Frank Short, R.A., P.R.E. 1857-1945. The Shadowed Valley. 1927. Mezzotint. Hardie 128. 14 3/8 x 19 3/8 (sheet 19 x 24). A rich, glowing impression p...

Play Ball! No. 27 unleashes a mighty swing at the ball. Both umpire and catcher are in their huddled crouch. "Swing" is an exclusive publication of Stone and Press Gallery by Art We...

Drift is a hand-pulled mezzotint in an edition of 10. This is #3/10. Location is Jarnigan ST in Starksville, Mississippi Jacob Crook was born in St. Loui...

Christine Ravaux created Une Fois Rien which is signed by pencil. This impression is #12 of 30 Shades of blacks and grays on a fallen branch create a pleasing pattern contrasted wi...

Carol Wax describes her circular images as "most often quasi abstract works that refer to ancient islamic designs using the shapes and attributes of animals, in this case the deer. T...

Leonard Merchant's mezzotint, "Snail in Cup" is inscribed for fellow artist, Fritz Eichenberg. While a student at the Central School for Arts and Crafts in London, a young Leonard Marchant found an engraving rocker in a cupboard and proceeded to turn himself into a master of the painstaking art of mezzotinting. Marchant, who has died in Shrewsbury aged 70, grew up in Simonstown, the Royal Navy's enclave in South Africa. Though his first job was as a parliamentary messenger, he taught himself to paint and, aged 19, was given a one-man show in Cape Town. Fired by this success, he left for England to study painting and, he claimed, to escape the stifling home atmosphere created by his Catholic mother and aunts. (His father was killed in the second world war.) Without contacts in London, he phoned Jacob Epstein, whose recommendation resulted in a grant to study briefly at the Central School. It was later, when studying full-time at the Central, that he saw the mezzotints of the Japanese master, Yozo Hamaguchi, in a London gallery. He was hooked. Creating a mezzotint is tedious in the extreme. The copper plate must first be prepared with a "rocker" which roughens the surface. A plate may be "rocked" 30 or 40 times. The rough texture is then reduced with a burnisher and a scraper, allowing the print a range of tones from velvety black through the greys to white. Marchant's plates could be months in the making. But the technical demands were the least of his worries. In its 18th- and 19th-century heyday, mezzotint was solely a reproductive medium, for copying masters such as Reynolds and Turner. The development of photography rendered it unfashionable, and by the 1960s the technique, known as la manière anglaise, was a bygone medium. Marchant, by now a teacher in printmaking at the Central, began to create original mezzotints with a colleague, Radavan Kraguly. A perfectionist, he seemed to revel in the straitjacket procedure. Perhaps it was the metaphor of bringing darkness out of light that appealed to this straight-talking, sometimes sombre, man, who would suddenly relax and light up like a gleaming hue on one of his prints. His work was of squares and triangles with the occasional cat, black and ominous, and carefully arranged still lifes, featuring plants, a seed pod, a pot he might have bought at auction to celebrate the sale of a print. There were one-man shows, notably at the Bankside Gallery. He sold well at the Royal Academy summer exhibition, was a Florence Biennale prizewinner, spent a fellowship year at the British School in Rome, and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers. But making mezzotints was not a paying job. Marchant and his South African wife...

Mikio WATANABE (1954-) Lizards , 2003 Original etching (Mezzotint) Signed and dated in pencil Numbered / 90 ex On vellum 57 x 35 cm (c. 22.4 x 13.7 inch) Excellent condition

This elegant mezzotint print, entitled, "Nature morte au coquetier", was realized by the esteemed artist Mario Avanti in France, 1962. It depicts a stylized rendition of a dove as a ...

Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) Femme au Turban, Vieux Gentilhomme, Borreau et Homme aux yeux fous (sheet 23 from Series 157, Bloch 1878; Baer 1883), etching and aquatint, 1970, with the a...

Francisco Souto has created his self portrait working on the plate of a mezzotint. This is impression #14 from an edition of only 23. Souto received a BFA from Herron School of Art ...

Marc Balakjian was enigmatic in his subject matter creating images that are disturbing in their ambiguity. Is this image just striped fabric tied with ropes on a platform or is this is a flag-draped coffin symbolizing those who passed "in memory of an historic phrase"? Politicians may turn the phrase but a price must be paid. This small edition mezzotint was created in 1975 in an edition of only 5. Armenian by descent, Marc Balakjian was raised in Lebanon. He spent his early years in the small town of Rayak, before moving to Beirut at the age of 10. He came to England in 1966, initially to study architecture with a firm in Oxford. He then decided to study art at Hammersmith College of Art and took up a postgraduate degree in printmaking at the Slade School of Art in 1971. After graduating he began working at Studio Prints in 1973, just as it was establishing itself in Queen’s Crescent. By 1976 he had become a full time partner, collaborating with other artists as well as continuing his own work, much of which is inspired by his Armenian and Lebanese culture and heritage. By the 1980s work was falling off, so Balakjian and Studio Prints introduced in-house plate-making to serve painters and sculptors who had little experience with printmaking. Artists such as Leon Kossoff, Frank Auerbach, Lucian Freud and Ken Kiff...

G.H. Rothe "Mindscape", 1978 Mezzotint Hand signed and titled in pencil by the artist Numbered 116/150 from the edition of 150 30 x 31 inches unframed

In Anne Dykmans' "Fructidore", a well endowed woman uses her plaid apron to carry a bunch of fruit. Parts of her body clothed in plaid seem to suggest the same fruit she is carrying...

Moody, mysterious, majestic – these are some of the ways to describe the mezzotints of Frederick Mershimer. His images travel through the serenity of a Brooklyn neighborhood on a sti...

"Evening II" is a mezzotint engraving created by Robert Kipniss in 2008. Printed in an edition of 60, this impression is signed in pencil and inscribed “8/60.” The paper size is 12...

Christine Ravaux created this mezzotint which translates to the phase "against sense". This impression is #7 of 20 Shades of blacks and grays on a fallen branch create a pleasing p...

Carol Wax's "Singer Needle" is a mezzotint issued in an edition of 100. It was originally designed to illustrate the step by step mezzotint process in the Abrams publication: "The Mezzotint: History and Technique" authored by Carol Wax. It is FIROS #44 in the catalogue raisonne. Carol Wax originally trained to be a classical musician at the Manhattan School of Music but fell in love with printmaking. Soon after she began engraving mezzotints she was asked by the renowned print dealer Sylvan Cole to exhibit at Associated American Artists Gallery, launching her career as a professional artist/printmaker. With the publication of her book, The Mezzotint: History and Technique, published by Abrams, 1990 and 1996, Carol added author and teacher to her credits. In the ensuing years she has expanded her repertoire of mediums beyond printmaking into other works on paper and painting. In compositions reflecting an appreciation for antiquated machinery and vintage textiles, Wax creates imagery that, in her own words, “… speaks to an inner life perceived in inanimate objects.” She uses stylization and imagination to reinvent subjects, transforming an ordinary typewriter into a monumental icon...

Stone and Press Gallery is excited to offer several works in celebration of the LGBTQ community. Eclipse I is from an edition of 90 Mezzotint artist Mikio Watanabe was born in 19...

Christine Ravaux created Deux Fois Rien which is signed by pencil. This impression is #12 of 30 Shades of blacks and grays on a fallen branch create a pleasing pattern contrasted w...

Souto named this image Bambalina (backstage). It is an exclusive publication of Stone and Press Gallery. Francisco Souto was born in Venezuela. He received a BFA from Herron Schoo...

In medieval universities, the trivium comprised the three subjects that were taught first: grammar, logic, and rhetoric. The word is a Latin term meaning "the three ways" or "the thr...

Mezzotint and etching with hand-colouring on paper realized by William Nutter (1750-1802) after J.R. Smith. Not signed, as issued. Very good condition. An elderly clergyman or mor...

Richard DAVIES (1945-1991) The Belvedere Original etching and mezzotint Handsigned in pencil Numbered / 50 On vellum 51 x 66 cm (c. 20 x 26 inch) REFERENCES : Catalog Raisonne Plum...

This is a self portrait of a young woman who is the wife of the artist. Francisco Souto was born in Venezuela, and received a BFA from Herron School of Art and a MFA from The Ohio ...

Stone and Press Gallery is excited to offer several works in celebration of the LGBTQ community. Christine Ravaux created Peau d' Are which is signed by pencil. This impression is ...

This is a three-plate color mezzotint. The mat dimensions are 20 x 16 inches. Signed "Schkolnyk" at lower right.

Carol Wax describes her circular images as "most often quasi abstract works that refer to ancient islamic designs using the shapes and attributes of animals, in this case the frog. T...

Stone and Press Gallery is excited to offer several works in celebration of the LGBTQ community. Christine Ravaux created Bout a Bout which is signed by pencil. This impression is...

An exclusive publication for Stone and Press Gallery, "Snow Does" was created in an edition of 100. It is FIROS #66 in the catalogue raisonne. Carol Wax originally trained to be a classical musician at the Manhattan School of Music but fell in love with printmaking. Soon after she began engraving mezzotints she was asked by the renowned print dealer Sylvan Cole to exhibit at Associated American Artists Gallery, launching her career as a professional artist/printmaker. With the publication of her book, The Mezzotint: History and Technique, published by Abrams, 1990 and 1996, Carol added author and teacher to her credits. In the ensuing years she has expanded her repertoire of mediums beyond printmaking into other works on paper and painting. In compositions reflecting an appreciation for antiquated machinery and vintage textiles, Wax creates imagery that, in her own words, “… speaks to an inner life perceived in inanimate objects.” She uses stylization and imagination to reinvent subjects, transforming an ordinary typewriter into a monumental icon...

Rio Osmarin shows boats on the canal Rio de S. Provolo o de l'Osmarin in Venice) It was created in 2006 and this impression is #31 of 75 It is signed, titled, numbered and dated by...

This impression is #22 Carol Wax originally trained to be a classical musician at the Manhattan School of Music but fell in love with printmaking. Soon after she began engraving mezzotints she was asked by the renowned print dealer Sylvan Cole to exhibit at Associated American Artists Gallery, launching her career as a professional artist/printmaker. With the publication of her book, The Mezzotint: History and Technique, published by Abrams, 1990 and 1996, Carol added author and teacher to her credits. In the ensuing years she has expanded her repertoire of mediums beyond printmaking into other works on paper and painting. In compositions reflecting an appreciation for antiquated machinery and vintage textiles, Wax creates imagery that, in her own words, “… speaks to an inner life perceived in inanimate objects.” She uses stylization and imagination to reinvent subjects, transforming an ordinary typewriter into a monumental icon...

12 copper mezzotints printed on Hahnemulle paper in an edition of 12. This is impression #5 The 12 complementary mezzotints are included in boxed portfolio Graduated from the Natio...

this impression is #46 from edition of 50 Mezzotint artist Mikio Watanabe was born in 1954 in Japan and currently lives in France. He is most known for his elegant, evocative black ...

It's early morning I'm St. Louis in this 2002 mezzotint that is signed and numbered Art Werger’s lyrical suburban scenes are evocative of boyhood summer evenings while his city imag...

Shades of blacks and grays on a fallen branch create a pleasing pattern contrasted with grasses and ferns that lie beneath. Christine Ravaux is a Belgian artist who uses nature in m...

This is impression #12 from an edition of 45 Born in Charleroi, Belgium, Ravaux is an artist who mirrors her surroundings in the mezzotints she creates. She has portrayed the black ...

This Holiday wreath adorns the door of a Brooklyn Mansion Frederick Mershimer (American, b. 1958) Moody, mysterious, majestic – these are some of the ways to describe the mezzotint...

A play on words provides the title for this image -- a circle created out of the deconstructed parts of Singer IV This image is #37 from an edition of only 50, referenced as Firos 78...

This Finnish artist creates a mezzotint in black and white. This impression is #44 of 100 and is signed, dated and titled in pencil. Jukka Vanttinen (Finn, b. 1954) Jukka Vanttinen...

The marriage between the art of science and the art of seeing was cemented by the invention of the lens. It is FIROS #48 in the catalogue raisonne. Carol Wax originally trained to b...

Ravaux used the rule of threes to show 3 pieces of Christmas ivy floating below three sources of light. Christine Ravaux is a Belgian artist who uses nature in much of her work whic...

Lois Ward's "Red Damsel" is a color mezzotint created in 1994 in a very small edition of just 10. This impression is #2 of 10. A young human figure in green gazes down on a Tinker B...

This image is #12 from an edition of only 75, Carol Wax originally trained to be a classical musician at the Manhattan School of Music but fell in love with printmaking. Soon after...

Anne Dykmans' "Wind" shows a multi color ribbon flapping in the wind. The flow of the wind is shown through the movement of the fabric. It is in an edition of just 10. Anne Dykman...

A miniature image in an edition of 30 features two beach huts and magical flying fish going by. The image is surreal and serene both at the same time, A lot of quiet emotion is comm...

Stone and Press Gallery is excited to offer several works in celebration of the LGBTQ community. A copper mezzotint printed on Hahnemulle paper in an edition of 20, Graduated fro...

Remington Strip Tease had a black iron dome covering the moving parts and suppressing noise. It is presented in a light that suggests a monument. It is f...

This black and white mezzotint of a shell next to a violin is an artist proof that was inscribed Happy New Year 2000 and signed by the artist. The regular e...

This is an artist's proof (xv/xv) of an early telephone that is signed and numbered by the artist in pencil Schkolnyk was born in Paris, France in 195...

This Finnish artist creates a mezzotint in black and white. This impression is #34 of 100 and is signed, dated and titled in pencil. Jukka Vanttinen (Finn, b. 1954) Jukka Vanttinen...

Laurent Schkolnyk created this original mezzotint, L' Anais that is signed, titled and numbered #22 in an edition of 30. Since the fruit was so perishable, it became a symbol of lu...

Hino creates a still life of a lotus from an edition of 65. A prominent figure in Buddhist and Egyptian culture, and native flower for both India and Vietnam, the lotus holds enormous symbolic weight. It spans various thousand-year-old Eastern cultures and yet, is still considered one of the most sacred flowers today. So what is it about this mysterious blossom that people find so enrapturing? Its colorful bloom is an obvious suspect, but the lotus also has a life cycle unlike any other. With its roots based in mud, it submerges every night into murky river water, and—undeterred by its dirty environment—it miraculously re-blooms the next morning without residue on its petals. Although cultures have their own interpretations of this daily process, there is a general consensus among ancient texts...

Shades of blacks and grays on a fallen branch create a pleasing pattern contrasted with grasses and ferns that lie beneath. Christine Ravaux is a Belgian artist who uses nature in m...

Carol Wax describes her circular images as "most often quasi abstract works that refer to ancient islamic designs using the shapes and attributes of animals, in this case the zebra. ...

Richard DAVIES (1945-1991) Young Girl at the Funfair, 1983 Original etching and mezzotint Handsigned in pencil Numbered / 30 On vellum 28 x 38 cm (c. 11 x 15 inch) REFERENCES : Cat...

G.H. Rothe "Glass Rose' Mezzotint Hand signed and titled in pencil by the artist Numbered 114/150 from the edition of 150 30 x 30 inches unframed

Richard DAVIES (1945-1991) Man with Accordion Original etching and mezzotint Handsigned in pencil Numbered / 60 On vellum 28 x 38 cm (c. 11 x 15 inch) REFERENCES : Catalog Raisonne...

Artist: Bertram George Buchanan (English, 1873-1962) Titles: "The Seven Sisters", "Rye from the Hills", and "Pett Level" *Each work is signed by Buchanan in pencil lower right Circa ...