Benton Murdoch Spruance
'The Lamentation' — Mid-century Modernism
1941

Name: 'The Lamentation' — Mid-century Modernism
Brand: Benton Murdoch Spruance
Price: 1400 USD
Availability: InStock

About the Item

'The Lamentation', lithograph, 1941, edition 35, Fine and Looney 198. Signed, titled, and annotated 'Ed 35' in pencil. Initialed in the stone, lower right. A fine, richly-inked impression, on cream wove paper; the full sheet with margins (1 1/2 to 2 inches); in excellent condition. Printed by master lithographer Theodore Cuno. Archivally sleeved to museum standards, unmatted. Image size 12 1/4 x 18 1/8 inches (311 x 460 mm); sheet size 15 1/8 x 21 7/8 inches (384 x 556 mm). Collections: Carnegie Museum of Art, Free Library of Philadelphia, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Whitney Museum of American Art, Woodmere Art Museum. ABOUT THE ARTIST Benton Spruance is widely recognized as one of America’s most important twentieth-century printmakers. Born in Philadelphia, he first took architectural classes at the University of Pennsylvania. Spruance then earned a scholarship to the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, where he studied with Daniel Garber. While at the Academy, he was awarded a Cresson Scholarship in 1928 to study in Paris, where he was introduced to lithography at the studio of master printers Edmond and Jacques Desjobert. Lithography became Spruance's lifelong passion; he created over 400 lithographs during his long and prolific career. The subjects of these works ranged from social commentary to modernist explorations depicting mid-twentieth America to biblical/symbolist representations. Spruance taught at Beaver College and served as chairman of the Fine Arts Department for over three decades. He then became director of graphic arts at the Philadelphia College of Art. He was awarded two Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowships in 1950 and 1964, and he was appointed a member of the Library of Congress Pennell Fund Purchase Committee 1955-62. Spruance exhibited his work nationally and internationally. His graphic work is held in numerous museum collections, including the Amon Carter Museum of Art, Cleveland Museum of Art, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Five Colleges and Historic Deerfield Consortium, Free Library of Philadelphia, Metropolitan Museum of Art, National Gallery of Art, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Reading Public Museum, Spencer Museum of Art, Library of Congress, Woodmere Art Museum, and the Whitney Museum of American Art.

Creator:

Benton Murdoch Spruance (1904 - 1967, American)

Creation Year:

1941

Dimensions:

Height: 12.25 in (31.12 cm)Width: 18.13 in (46.06 cm)

Medium:

Lithograph

Movement & Style:

American Modern

Period:

1940-1949