Frances H. Gearhart

PATTY

1928

Elwood Warren Bartlett is a Wisconsin native who also worked in Indiana. Turtle Creek (named of course for its many turtles,) is in the southeastern part of the Wisconsin. It is now ...

Elwood Warren Bartlett is a Wisconsin native who also worked in Indiana. Largely self taught as a printmaker, Bartlett worked in a style that once identified as his, immediately t...

Lynd Ward, 'Madman's Drum, Plate 41', wood engraving, 1930, edition small. Signed in pencil. A fine, richly-inked impression, on off-white tissue-thin Japan paper; the full sheet with margins (1 5/8 to 2 1/2 inches); a small paper blemish in the upper right margin, away from the image, otherwise in excellent condition. A scarce, artist-printed, hand-signed proof impression before the published edition. Matted to museum standards, unframed. Image size 5 1/2 x 3 3/4 inches (140 x 95 mm); sheet size 9 5/8 x 7 1/8 inches (244 x 181 mm). From Lynd Ward’s book of illustrations without words, 'Madman’s Drum', Jonathan Cape and Harrison Smith, New York, 1930. Reproduced in 'Storyteller Without Words, the Wood Engravings of Lynd Ward', Harry N. Abrams, New York, 1974. ABOUT THE ARTIST Lynd Ward is acknowledged as one of America’s foremost wood engravers and book illustrators of the first half of the twentieth century. His innovative use of narrative printmaking as a stand-alone storytelling vehicle was uniquely successful in reaching a broad audience. The powerful psychological intensity of his work, celebrated for its dynamic design, technical precision, and compelling dramatic content, finds resonance in the literature of Poe, Melville, and Hawthorne. Like these classic American writers, Ward was concerned with the themes of man’s inner struggles and the role of the subconscious in determining his destiny. An artist of social conscience during the Great Depression and World War II, he infused his graphic images with his unique brand of social realism, deftly portraying the problems that challenged the ideals of American society. The son of a Methodist preacher, Lynd Ward, moved from Chicago to Massachusetts at an early age. He graduated from the Teachers College of Columbia University, New York, in 1926, where he studied illustration and graphic arts. He married May Yonge McNeer in 1936 and left for Europe for their honeymoon in Eastern Europe. After four months, they settled in Leipzig, where Ward studied at the National Academy of Graphic Arts and Bookmaking. Inspired by Belgian expressionist artist Frans Masereel's graphic novel ‘The Sun,’ and another graphic novel by the German artist Otto Nückel, ‘Destiny,’ he determined to create his own "wordless" novel. Upon his return to America, Ward completed his first book, ‘God's Man: A Novel in Woodcuts,’ published in 1929. ‘Gods’ Man’ was a great success for its author and publisher and was reprinted four times in 1930, including a British edition. This book and several which followed it, ‘Madman’s Drum,’ 1930, ‘Wild Pilgrimage...

Bernard Brussel-Smith, 'Sailor and His Girl', wood engraving, 1941, edition 35. Signed, titled, and numbered '21/35' in pencil. Signed in the block, lower right. A superb, richly-in...

Lou Barlow (Louis Breslow), 'Tenant Farmers', color wood engraving, 1936, edition 25. Signed, titled, and numbered '15/25' in pencil. A superb, richly-inked impression, with fresh c...

'Lot Cleaning, Los Angeles', wood engraving, edition 60, Zeitlin & Ver Brugge 69. Signed, titled and numbered '51/60' in pencil. A brilliant, black impression, on Kitakata Japan pape...

Wuanita Smith, 'Humming Birds and Orchids', white-line color woodcut, circa 1930, edition 50. Signed and titled in pencil. Annotated '50 edition', 'no 5'...

John DePol, 'Reflections', chiaroscuro wood engraving, 1979, edition 160 in 1983. Signed, dated and titled in pencil. Signed in the block, lower right. A superb impression, on cream ...

John DePol, 'Magic Hour, Autumn', chiaroscuro wood engraving, 1981, edition 160 in 1983. Signed, dated and titled in pencil. Signed in the block, lower right. A superb impression, on...

John DePol, 'Floating Crap Game, chiaroscuro wood engraving, 1958, edition 145. Signed, titled, numbered 'Ed. 145' and dated '3/1958'. Signed in the block, lower right. A fine, rich ...