Joseph Hecht
Asie (Asia) from the series Atlas
1928

Name: Asie (Asia) from the series Atlas
Brand: Joseph Hecht
Price: 2400 USD
Availability: InStock

About the Item

Joseph Hecht, 'Asie (Asia) from the series Atlas', engraving, 1928, edition c. 50, Tonneau-Ryckelynck & Plumart 162. Signed and annotated 'epreuve definitive' (final proof) in pencil. A superb impression, with subtle plate tone and all the fine lines printing clearly, on flecked cream wove handmade paper; the full sheet with wide margins (2 1/8 to 2 7/8 inches), in excellent condition. Image size: 7 3/4 x 11 9/16 inches; sheet size 13 1/8 x 16 3/8 inches. Matted to museum standards, unframed. Collections: Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Harvard Art Museums, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. ABOUT THE ARTIST Polish artist Joseph Hecht went to live in neutral Norway at the outbreak of WWI. Immediately following the armistice, Hecht traveled to Italy, and two years later, to Paris, where he maintained a studio until his death. Hecht became a member of the Salon d'Automne, thereby gaining an entrée into the Parisian art world and the opportunity to exhibit his work regularly. At his Paris studio, he taught burin-engraving, the classic copper-engraving technique, to many artists, including British printmaker Stanley William Hayter. In 1926 Hecht published his first suite of six prints, 'L' Arche de Noë', which included a preface by the French symbolist Gustave Kahn and was exhibited in December that year at the Paris gallery 'Le Nouvel Essor'. Hecht’s future collaborator, mystical poet, and critic André Suarès wrote a laudatory catalog article. The imagery that Hecht had been developing found renewed vigor in 1928 when Suarès and Hecht collaborated on the folio, 'Atlas'. In 1927 Hecht’s support of Hayter's printmaking explorations led to the founding of the printmaking cooperative Atelier 17, which was to become perhaps the most influential printmaking studio of the 20th century, and which endures to this day in Paris as Atelier Contrepoint. The collaborative atmosphere and experimental techniques developed at Atelier 17 influenced numerous artists, including Pablo Picasso, Marc Chagall, Alberto Giacometti, and Joan Miró. In 1929 Hecht became a founding member of another group, La Jeune Gravure Contemporaine, which staged annual group shows and was influential in maintaining a vibrant interest in printmaking. Between 1926 and 1938, Hecht's engravings were published in various collections, and his work was widely exhibited, gaining him critical acclaim. Hecht won two gold medals at the 1937 Paris World's Fair. Hecht's graphic work can be found in the following public collections: Bibliothèque Doucet; Bibliothèque Nationale; British Museum; Brooklyn Museum; Cabinet d' Amsterdam; Chalcographie du Louvre; Cincinnati Museum of Art; Delft Museum; Hague Museum; Leeds Museum; Leyde Museum; Library of Congress; Metropolitan Museum of Art; Musée d'Amiens; Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris; Musée de Belfort; Musée Carnavalet; Musée de Céret; Museum of Copenhagen; Musée du Luxembourg; Musée de Montpelier; Musée de Mulhouse; Musée de Nantes; Musée du Petit-Palais; Museum of Tel-Aviv; National Gallery of Art, Washington; New York Public Library; Philadelphia Museum of Art; University of Warsaw; Victoria and Albert Museum.

Creator:

Joseph Hecht (1891 - 1951, French)

Creation Year:

1928

Dimensions:

Height: 7.75 in (19.69 cm)Width: 11.57 in (29.39 cm)

Medium:

Engraving

Movement & Style:

Modern

Period:

1930-1939