American Modern Figurative Prints

Etching on bluish-grey, thin laid paper, 9 1/2 x 5 1/2 inches (242 x 140 mm), full margins. Signed, dated and numbered "II." In very good condition with three pin-point sized dots of...

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

An early 20th century view of Times Square. The Society of Iconophiles, 1904. Lithograph in black ink on tissue-thin, laid Japon paper with an anchor and numeral 48 watermark, 8 3/...

Etching on antique cream laid paper with a partial watermark (likely Arches), 12 1/8 x 6 1/8 inches (308 x 156 mm), full margins. Signed and dated in pencil in the lower right margin...

In the 1950s woodcuts were getting bigger and bigger. This one isn't gigantic, but at an image size of 17 x 11 inches it is substantial. And of course NYC's El Trains and their stati...

Original French poster. Linen-backed KARTING HAFA motor oil KARTING poster estimated to be in the late 1950s—early 60s. It is in excellent condition and ready to frame. COUPE d´ E...

'Broken Carousel', color lithograph, 1950, edition 35, Fine and Looney 285. Signed, titled, and numbered '18/35' in pencil. Initialed in the stone, lower right. A fine, richly-inked ...

Original Mardi Gras, New Orleans, 1978 linen-backed poster. Dressed up in what would be an American Indian costume with full headgear, he is holding a shield with a horse on it. Indian decoration on the footwear. Signed and numbered. I believe this has to deal with Big Chief leading his Congo Nation Mardi Gras Indian group. Zulu Parade. Many of the original Mardi Gras jazz posters...

Original “Does It Fit and Is It Right?” vintage National Rifle Association of America vintage poster. There is some slight foxing on the top section of the poster, as well as a sm...

An evening view of lower Manhattan rooftops, looking north towards Times Square and kleig lights in the distance. New York: 1974. Etching on white wove paper, 7 1/8 x 11 15/16 inche...

Leon Bibel, 'Clown', color serigraph, 1939, edition 20. Signed, dated, titled, and numbered '/20' in pencil. A fine, richly-inked, painterly impression, with fresh colors, on buff la...

Original Continental Airlines travel poster. Linen backed in fine condition. Signed and numbered 35/50. This original Continental Airlines poster artistically represents regional destinations prominently served by Continental Airlines in the past. The design is modern and bold, showcasing a unique black-and-white theme with strong, futuristic typography and graphical illustrations. Each city is creatively depicted using stylized imagery that resonates with its character—Oklahoma City features a cowboy motif, New Orleans embraces a jazzy, cultural essence, Dallas reflects the energy of movement, and Midland/Odessa highlights industrial and oil-centric themes. This limited-edition poster is printed in black and white. It features Oklahoma City, New Orleans, Dallas, and Midland / Odessa destinations. Above each name is a design that represents each destination city. Oklahoma City has rodeo horseback riding. New Orleans has steamships, Dallas has football players, and Midland has large oil tanker trucks. This image features the Saul Bass l967 Continental logo in the design. Continental Airlines was a major United States airline founded in 1934 and eventually headquartered in Houston, Texas. The airline was acquired by UAL Corporation, the parent company of United Airlines, on October 1, 2010. This is an original vintage Continental Airlines poster...

Original poster: Original World War II poster: Strong in the Strength of the Lord (L) Note that this is the large version of this poster. Acid-free archival linen-backed original WWII, U. S. Government printed vintage poster. A factory worker and a soldier all played a key part in the U.S. war effort. Published by the War Information Office in an attempt to foster greater cooperation between some different segments of society. AMERICANS SUFFER WHEN CARLESS TALK KILLS! Original 1943 U.S. Government (military propaganda) poster. Archival linen backed in A- - B+ condition, ready to frame. Note that WW2 U. S. Government posters were folded prior to being distributed. This is not considered a defect. The fold marks were restored during linen backing. Tiny chips along the bottom border. This poster promoted cooperation among various segments of American society- a woman, a soldier, and a factory worker. It is a mixture of crusading, religious, and industrial symbolism. The text quotes Henry Wallace, then Vice-President. Artist: Martin, David Stone...

Etching on antique cream laid paper with an "England" watermark; 13 7/8 x 8 5/8 inches (353 x 221 mm), full margins. Signed, dated, titled, numbered "III," and inscribed in pencil. O...

Warrington Colescott Dillinger: Attack and Defense of Little Bohemia - 1966 Print - etching, with Aquatint   35'' x 25.5'' inches Edition: signed and titled in pencil and marked 32/5...

Work by Alicia Wiencek (Mrs. Edward Fiene) is generally extremely scarce. This print comes up from time to time and was made an actual edition (of 8) at a time when many artists didn...

Listening is a 2000 mezzotint that is signed by the artist. Art Werger’s lyrical suburban scenes are evocative of boyhood summer evenings while his city images are fraught with tens...

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 ...

Linen-backed original German / Germany culinary map in excellent condition. MIT DER DEUTSCHEN BUNDESBAHN DURCH DAS GASTLICHE DEUTSCHLAND. Mit der Deutschen Bundesbahn durch das Gastliche Deutschland (With Deutsche Bundesbahn through Hospitable Germany). A map of Germany showing all the food and wine features in various regions and cities. If you go to Germany and want to find the origins of foods, this will lead you to the correct city. From wine, bread, fish, cookies, spat, prezels, pork, bier, french...

Akio Takamori Fruit Tree, 1993 Medium: 4 Color Lithograph Edition: 30 Paper: Rives BFK, White Paper Size: 33.5″ x 15″ Image Size: 29.5″ x 11″ Signed, dated, numbered and inscribed by...

Original HISWA RAI-Gebouw, Amsterdam vintage sports poster. Also referred to as: HISWA Amsterdam Boat Show. The last boat show was in March 2020, and this iconic event is not be...

A life drawing by a well known book illustrator and long-term resident of the Chelsea Hotel in the 1930s. Caswell, Edward Gin giving Doris a hair cut Black crayon on lightweight, br...

Original poster: United Behind The Service Star ; Great vibrant colors. Linen backed. All the various support organizations that backed up the soldiers and war relief during World War One. A-, B+ condition. Paper tear from the bottom about 10" professionally laid down. No paper loss. A large blue star appears over the flags, and below the image reads "United Behind the Service Star". The poster features American soldiers carrying the flags of seven major service organizations: the YMCA, the National Catholic War Council, the Jewish Welfare Board, the Salvation Army, War Camp Community Service, the American Library Association, and the YWCA. These organizations were instrumental in providing various forms of support, such as food, medical care, and morale-boosting services, both to soldiers and civilians. If you have ever looked to have a 'supreme' version of this great war poster...

S. L Margolies (Samuel L.) made dynamic urban views and calm country scenes. This peaceful subject, with snow-covered hills and tidy cabin, Silent Symphony, 1946, marks an end to the...

A signed impression from the artist's own collection. Kansas City: Miniature Print Society, 1946. Etching on antique cream laid paper, 3 5/15 x 1 7/8 inches (84 x 49 mm), full margi...

A moody evening in New York City. The buildings capture the quiet that New York sometimes achieves. Signed and dated in pencil.

Original Go Greyhound, Washington D. C. vintage travel poster. See your U. .S. A. Leave the driving to us. Conservation linen backed in very good / fine condition. Ready to frame. The image features a statue of a man on a horse in the foreground. In the back is the Capitol dome. A light blue background. The bottom right corner has the emblem of the Greyhound bus...

Original Amtrak Southwest Amtrak … Takes You Clear Across America vintage travel poster. Amtrack … Takes You Clear Across America tr...

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...

Original linen-backed NORWICH CASTLE vintage travel poster, printed in England in 1935 by artist C. W. Hobbis and published by Page Brothers (Norwich) Ltd. It features a city center ...

This impression is #108. Mershimer created a color mezzotint of the Mardi Gras scene in mid-city New Orleans. The parade was the Endymion crew marching on Canal Street near Jefferson...

Etching on elaborately watermarked, antique, cream laid Dard Hunter paper, 13 5/8 x 7 1/78 inches (347 x 181 mm), full margins. Signed, titled, dated and inscribed "Ed. 100 II." From...

Shift Change Mike Goscinsky, American (1933–2021) Woodblock on thin wove paper, signed, titled and numbered in pencil Edition of 15/75 Image Size: 14 x 19 inches Size: 22 x 26.5 in. ...

New York: c 1920. Etching with aquatint printed in brownish black ink on cream wove paper, 8 3/4 x 12 inches (220 x 304 mm), full margins. Signed and titled in pencil in the lower ma...

Lynd Ward, 'Doctor' from the series 'Moriae Encomium (In Praise of Folly),' mezzotint, 1943, no edition, proofs only. Signed in pencil. A superb, richly-inked impression, on cream wove paper; the full sheet with margins (1 to 1 3/4 inches) in excellent condition. Matted to museum standards, unframed. Scarce. Image size 7 3/4 x 4 3/4 inches (197 x 121 mm); sheet size 10 11/16 x 8 1/16 inches (271 x 204 mm). Created by the artist for 'Erasmus's Moriae Encomium,' or 'In Praise of Folly,' published by the Limited Editions Club, 1943. A rare, signed, proof impression apart from the Limited Editions Club publication. 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,’ 1932, ‘Prelude to a Million Years,’ 1933, ‘Song Without Words,' 1936, ‘Vertigo,’ 1937; and ‘Last Unfinished Wordless Novel’ (created in the 1960s and published in 2001) were comprised solely of Ward's wood engravings. Ward designed each graphic image to occupy an entire page, the sequence of which conveys the story's narrative. In 1937, Ward was named Director of the Graphic Arts Division of the Federal Art Project, a division of the Works Progress Administration (WPA). In the following years, Ward went on to illustrate more than one hundred books (some of which he wrote), including classics for the Limited Editions Club Goethe’s ‘Faust,’ Faulkner’s ‘A Green Bough,’ and Mary Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein,’ and several children’s books. He also produced single-subject wood engravings, paintings, and drawings. His print ‘Sanctuary,’ 1939, was shown at the 1939 New York World’s Fair, and ‘Clouded Over,’ 1948, received the 1948 Library of Congress Award and was included in ‘American Prize Prints of the 20th Century’ by Albert Reese. He received the National Academy of Design Print Award (1949), the New York Times Best Illustrated Award (1973), and the Regina Award (Catholic Library Association, 1975). ‘The Biggest Bear,’ a children’s book with illustrations by Ward, was the recipient of the esteemed 1952 Caldecott Medal of the American Library Association. An Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Painter-Etchers and Engravers, Ward was a member and board member of the National Academy of Design and the Artists’ League of America. He served several terms as president of the Society of American Graphic Artists and was a member of the American Artists Congress and the Society of Illustrators. Ward exhibited at the American Artists Congress; the National Academy of Design; the John Herron Art Institute; and the Library of Congress. He had a one-person show at Associated American Artists, NY, on the publication of his monograph 'Storyteller Without Words,' 1974; AAA mounted a memorial exhibition in 1986. The May 1976 issue of 'Bibliognost,' a book collector’s publication, was dedicated to Ward. ‘Lynd Ward, His Bookplate Designs,’ an article by Dan Burne Jones, was published in the American Society of Bookplate Collectors and Designers Yearbook, 1981/82. In 2001, sixteen years after his death, Rutgers University Libraries published ’Lynd Ward’s Last Unfinished Wordless Novel.’ The blocks were intended to be part of a novel in woodcuts, the first since Vertigo, but Ward did not live to complete the project. Master printer and book designer Barbara Henry collated and printed the twenty-six finished blocks out of the forty-four initially planned for the still unnamed narrative. In 2010 the Library of America honored Ward’s achievements with the meticulous production of a collection of Ward’s woodcut novels—the first time the Library had gone wordless. The publication replicated his original editions with a single full-size image printed on the right page of each double-page spread. In his introduction to the books, renowned cartoonist/illustrator Art...

In 1991 Harry Sternberg published a book with Brighton Press, San Diego. It was My Life in Woodcuts. At the time it was the only known woodcut autobiography. The deluxe editions of...

Irwin Hoffman created a lively scene of a Mexican barber shop that serves as a focal point of the community's life. A man is being shaved as people cook, eat and revel in the camaraderie of the scene. This print was issued by Associated American Artists and is in the permanent collection of the San Francisco Museum of Art. Born in East Boston...

Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow by Dorothy Dell Dennison, American (1908–1994) Date: circa 1977 Lithograph, signed and numbered in pencil Edition of 1...

Boston: Frederick J. Quinby Company, 1904. Etching on cream wove paper, 5 3/8 x 4 1/4 inches (135 x 107 mm), signed in the plate, lower right. Third state (of 3), from the novel The ...

This is one print – printed in full color on 15" x 20" heavy cream-colored paper. It is from a limited edition series of 175, the portfolio is hand numbered and hand signed by Chris Ware. the individual prints are not. The page with the hand signature is included here as a photo for reference only it is not included in this sale. Franklin Christenson "Chris" Ware (born December 28, 1967), is an American cartoonist known for his Acme Novelty Library series (begun 1994) and the graphic novel Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on Earth (2000) and Building Stories (2012). His works explore themes of social isolation, emotional torment and depression. He tends to use a vivid color palette and realistic, meticulous detail. His lettering and images are often elaborate and sometimes evoke the ragtime era or another early 20th-century American design style. Ware often refers to himself in the publicity for his work in self-effacing, even withering tones. He is considered by some critics and fellow notable illustrators and writers, such as Dave Eggers, to be among the best currently working in the medium; Canadian graphic-novelist Seth has said, "Chris really changed the playing field. After him, a lot of [cartoonists] really started to scramble and go, 'Holy [expletive], I think I have to try harder.'" While still a sophomore at UT, Ware came to the attention of Art Spiegelman, who invited Ware to contribute to Raw, the influential anthology magazine Spiegelman was co-editing with Françoise Mouly. Ware has acknowledged that being included in Raw gave him confidence and inspired him to explore printing techniques and self-publishing. His Fantagraphics series Acme Novelty Library defied comics publishing conventions with every issue. Ware's art reflects early 20th-century American styles of cartooning and graphic design, shifting through formats from traditional comic panels to faux advertisements and cut-out toys. Stylistic influences include advertising graphics from that same era; newspaper strip cartoonists Winsor McCay (Little Nemo in Slumberland) and Frank King (Gasoline Alley); Charles Schulz's post-WWII strip Peanuts and the cover designs of ragtime-era sheet music. Ware has spoken about finding inspiration in the work of artist Joseph Cornell and cites Richard McGuire's strip Here as a major influence on his use of non-linear narratives. He is one of the great practitioners who have elevated the graphic novel style along with, Shepard Fairey, Ben Katchor and Robert Crumb. Quimby the Mouse was an early character for Ware and something of a breakthrough. Rendered in the style of an early animation character like Felix the Cat, Quimby the Mouse is perhaps Ware's most autobiographical character. Ware's Building Stories was serialized in a host of different venues. It first appeared as a monthly strip in Nest Magazine. Installments later appeared in a number of publications, including The New Yorker, Kramer's Ergot, and most notably, the Sunday New York Times Magazine. Building Stories appeared weekly in the New York Times Magazine from September 18, 2005 until April 16, 2006. A full chapter was published in Acme Novelty Library, number 18. Another installment was published under the title "Touch Sensitive" as a digital app released through McSweeneys. The entire narrative was published as a boxed set of books by Pantheon in October 2012. Ware was commissioned by Chip Kidd to design the inner machinations of the bird on the cover of Haruki Murakami's novel The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. In 2011, Ware created the poster for the U.S. release of the 2010 Palme d'Or winning film Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives by Thai director Apichatpong Weerasethakul. Awards and honors Over the years his work garnered several awards, including the 1999 National Cartoonists Society's Award for Best Comic Book for Acme Novelty Library and Award for Graphic Novel for Building Stories. Ware has won numerous Eisner Awards and multiple Harvey Awards. In 2002, Ware became the first comics artist to be invited to exhibit at Whitney Museum of American Art biennial exhibition. With Will Eisner, Jack Kirby, Harvey Kurtzman, Robert Crumb and Gary Panter, Ware was among the artists honored in the exhibition "Masters of American Comics" at the Jewish Museum in New York City, New York, from September 16, 2006 to January 28, 2007. His work was the subject of solo exhibitions at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago in 2006 and at the University of Nebraska's Sheldon Museum of Art, in 2007. Many famous artists have done covers for the New Yorker Magazine including, Saul Steinberg, Maira Kalman, Art Spiegelman, Francoise Mouly, Charles Addams, Peter Arno, Roz Chast, Ed Koren...

Original New England American Airlines vintage travel poster. Size 30” x 40”. Archival linen backed, untrimmed, A condition. This original vintage poster from the 1950s captures the essence of New England and American Airlines flights to the region. Designed by Bern Hill...

Original vintage travel poster: HOLLAND AMERICA CRUISES. Artist: David Klein. This poster is printed on a thicker paperstock and doesn't require ...

In 1991 Harry Sternberg published a book with Brighton Press, San Diego. It was My Life in Woodcuts. At the time it was the only known woodcut autobiography. The deluxe editions of...

Lynd Ward, 'Pope' from the series 'Moriae Encomium (In Praise of Folly),' mezzotint, 1943, no edition, proofs only. Signed in pencil. Annotated 'POPE - CARDINAL - BISHOP' - 1943 in ink, lower left. A superb, richly-inked impression, on cream wove paper; the full sheet with margins (1 3/8 to 1 7/8 inches) in excellent condition. Matted to museum standards, unframed. Scarce. Created by the artist for 'Erasmus's Moriae Encomium,' or 'In Praise of Folly,' published by the Limited Editions Club, 1943. A rare, signed, proof impression apart from the Limited Editions Club publication. Image size 7 3/4 x 4 3/4 inches (197 x 121 mm); sheet size 10 11/16 x 8 1/16 inches (271 x 204 mm). 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,’ 1932, ‘Prelude to a Million Years,’ 1933, ‘Song Without Words,' 1936, ‘Vertigo,’ 1937; and ‘Last Unfinished Wordless Novel’ (created in the 1960s and published in 2001) were comprised solely of Ward's wood engravings. Ward designed each graphic image to occupy an entire page, the sequence of which conveys the story's narrative. In 1937, Ward was named Director of the Graphic Arts Division of the Federal Art Project, a division of the Works Progress Administration (WPA). In the following years, Ward went on to illustrate more than one hundred books (some of which he wrote), including classics for the Limited Editions Club Goethe’s ‘Faust,’ Faulkner’s ‘A Green Bough,’ and Mary Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein,’ and several children’s books. He also produced single-subject wood engravings, paintings, and drawings. His print ‘Sanctuary,’ 1939, was shown at the 1939 New York World’s Fair, and ‘Clouded Over,’ 1948, received the 1948 Library of Congress Award and was included in ‘American Prize Prints of the 20th Century’ by Albert Reese. He received the National Academy of Design Print Award (1949), the New York Times Best Illustrated Award (1973), and the Regina Award (Catholic Library Association, 1975). ‘The Biggest Bear,’ a children’s book with illustrations by Ward, was the recipient of the esteemed 1952 Caldecott Medal of the American Library Association. An Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Painter-Etchers and Engravers, Ward was a member and board member of the National Academy of Design and the Artists’ League of America. He served several terms as president of the Society of American Graphic Artists and was a member of the American Artists Congress and the Society of Illustrators. Ward exhibited at the American Artists Congress; the National Academy of Design; the John Herron Art Institute; and the Library of Congress. He had a one-person show at Associated American Artists, NY, on the publication of his monograph 'Storyteller Without Words,' 1974; AAA mounted a memorial exhibition in 1986. The May 1976 issue of 'Bibliognost,' a book collector’s publication, was dedicated to Ward. ‘Lynd Ward, His Bookplate Designs,’ an article by Dan Burne Jones, was published in the American Society of Bookplate Collectors and Designers Yearbook, 1981/82. In 2001, sixteen years after his death, Rutgers University Libraries published ’Lynd Ward’s Last Unfinished Wordless Novel.’ The blocks were intended to be part of a novel in woodcuts, the first since Vertigo, but Ward did not live to complete the project. Master printer and book designer Barbara Henry collated and printed the twenty-six finished blocks out of the forty-four initially planned for the still unnamed narrative. In 2010 the Library of America honored Ward’s achievements with the meticulous production of a collection of Ward’s woodcut novels—the first time the Library had gone wordless. The publication replicated his original editions with a single full-size image printed on the right page of each double-page spread. In his introduction to the books, renowned cartoonist/illustrator Art...

Etching on handmade cream laid paper, 3 1/2 x 4 1/4 inches (890 x 108 mm), full margins. Signed, dated and inscribed "III" in pencil, lower margin. Edition of 150, third state (of th...

(after) Alexander Calder "Calder's Circus" offset lithograph on wove paper after drawings by the artist Published by Art in America and Perls gallery in 1964 (from drawings done in the 1930's) these range slightly in size but they are all about 13 X 17 inches (with minor variations in size as issued.) These have never been framed. The outer folio is not included just the one lithograph. James Sweeny from the introduction “The fame of Calder’s circus spread quickly between the years 1927 and 1930. All the Paris art world came to know it. It brought him his first great personal success. But what was more important, the circus also provided the first steps in Calder’s development as an original sculptor” Clive Gray wrote ”A visit to the studio of Alexander Calder led to the chance discovery of some hundred masterful circus drawings completed over thirty years ago. We publish, for the first time, a choice of sixteen from that group.” With signed introduction by Miro. These whimsical drawings, done in the style of wire sculpture, include acrobats, clowns, jugglers, trapeeze artists, an elephant, dog and lion. they are great. Alexander Calder is widely considered to be one of the most important American sculptors of the 20th century. He is best known for his colorful, whimsical abstract public sculptures and his innovative mobiles, kinetic sculptures powered by motors or air currents, which embraced chance in their aesthetic. Born into a family of accomplished artists, Calder's work first gained attention in Paris in the 1930s and was soon championed by the Museum of Modern Art in New York, resulting in a retrospective exhibition in 1943. Major retrospectives were also held at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (1964) and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago (1974). Calder’s work is in many permanent collections, most notably in the Whitney Museum of American Art, but also the Guggenheim Museum; the Museum of Modern Art; the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; and the Centre Georges Pompidou. He produced many large public works, including .125 (at JFK Airport, 1957), Pittsburgh (Carnegie International prize winner 1958, Pittsburgh International Airport) Spirale (UNESCO in Paris, 1958), Flamingo and Universe (both in Chicago, 1974), and Mountains and Clouds (Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C., 1976). Although primarily known for his sculpture, Calder was a prodigious artist with a restless creative spirit, whose diverse practice included painting and printmaking, miniatures (such as his famous Cirque Calder), children’s book illustrations, theater set design, jewelry design, tapestry and rug works, and political posters. Calder was honored by the US Postal Service with a set of five 32-cent stamps in 1998, and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, posthumously in 1977, after refusing to receive it from Gerald Ford one year earlier in protest of the Vietnam War. Calder moved to New York and enrolled at the Art Students League, studying briefly with Thomas Hart Benton, George Luks, Kenneth Hayes Miller, and John Sloan. While a student, he worked for the National Police Gazette where, in 1925, one of his assignments was sketching the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. Calder became fascinated with the action of the circus, a theme that would reappear in his later work. In 1926, Calder moved to Paris, enrolled in the Académie de la Grande Chaumière, and established a studio at 22 rue Daguerre in the Montparnasse Quarter. In June 1929, while traveling by boat from Paris to New York, Calder met his future wife, Louisa James (1905-1996), grandniece of author Henry James and philosopher William James. They married in 1931. While in Paris, Calder met and became friends with a number of avant-garde artists, including Fernand Léger, Jean Arp, and Marcel Duchamp. Cirque Calder (on view at the Whitney Museum of American Art at present) became popular with the Parisian avant-garde. He also invented wire sculpture, or "drawing in space," and in 1929 he had his first solo show of these sculptures in Paris at Galerie Billiet. Hi! (Two Acrobats) in the collection of the Honolulu Museum of Art is an early example of the artist's wire sculpture. The painter Jules Pascin, a friend of Calder's from the cafes of Montparnasse, wrote the preface to the catalog. A visit to Piet Mondrian's studio in 1930, where he was impressed by the environment-as-installation, "shocked" him into fully embracing abstract art, toward which he had already been tending. Dating from 1931, Calder’s sculptures of discrete movable parts powered by motors were christened “mobiles” by Marcel Duchamp, a French pun meaning both "motion" and "motive." At the same time, Calder was also experimenting with self-supporting, static, abstract sculptures, dubbed "stabiles" by Jean Arp in 1932 to differentiate them from mobiles. Public commissions increasingly came his way in the 1960s. Notable examples are .125 for JFK Airport in 1957, Spirale for UNESCO in Paris 1958 and Trois disques, commissioned for Expo 67 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Calder's largest sculpture at 25.7 meters high was El Sol Rojo, constructed outside the Aztec Stadium for the 1968 Summer Olympics "Cultural Olympiad" events in Mexico City. Many of his public works were commissioned by renowned architects; I.M. Pei commissioned his La Grande Voile (1966), a 25-ton, 40-foot high stabile for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Part of Calder's repertoire includes pivotal stage sets for more than a dozen theatrical productions, including Nucléa, Horizon, and most notably, Martha Graham’s Panorama (1935), a production of the Erik Satie symphonic drama Socrate (1936), and later, Works in Progress (1968). In addition to sculptures, Calder painted throughout his career, beginning in the early 1920s. He picked up his study of printmaking in 1925, and continued to produce illustrations for books and journals.As Calder’s professional reputation expanded in the late 1940s and 1950s, so did his production of prints. Masses of lithographs based on his gouache paintings hit the market, and deluxe editions of plays, poems, and short stories illustrated with fine art prints by Calder became available for sale. One of Calder's most celebrated and unconventional undertakings was a commission from Dallas-based Braniff International Airways to paint a full-size Douglas DC-8-62 four-engined jet as a "flying canvas." Calder created over 2,000 pieces of jewelry over the course of his career, many of them as gifts for friends and relatives. For his lifelong friend Joan Miró, he set a shard of a broken porcelain vessel in a brass ring. Peggy Guggenheim received enormous silver mobile earrings and later commissioned a hammered silver headboard...

Pamela Bianco, 'Fruit Piece', lithograph, c. 1925. Signed and titled in pencil. Signed in the stone, lower left. Annotated 'No. 8' in pencil, upper right...

tching on green-hued antique laid Japon paper, 9 7/16 x 4 1/16 (240 x 104 mm), full margins. Signed, dated and inscribed "Ed. 100 II." One of a total edition on 124 impressions, prin...

Man with Mask Lithograph, 1969 Signed in pencil by the artist 95/100 Printed by Lucien Detruit, Paris Published by AAA, New York Reference: AAA Index No. 60 Condition: Mint Image siz...

A superb, richly inked impression, on off-white wove paper; the full sheet, with deckel all around (margins 1 to 2 inches) in excellent condition. Signed, dated, titled and annotated...

Bold woodblock print by Byron Randall (American, 1918-1999). Titled "Schooner + Doryman", numbered "1st ed.", and signed and dated "Byron Randall '62" along the bottom edge. Small am...

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No matter the seriousness (or lack thereof) of the subject, everything is always beautifully drawn on the lithographic stone by Bendiner. Here a bull fight has gone amiss. Perhaps ...

Benton Spruance, 'Havoc in Heaven', lithograph, 1948, edition 30-35, Fine and Looney 270. Signed, titled, and numbered 'Ed 35' in pencil. Initialed in the stone, lower right. Printed...

(New York: John Taylor Arms, 1930) Etching on antique cream laid paper with a fancy "G" watermark, 7 1/8 x 16 1/2 inches (182 x 442 mm), full margins. Signed, dated and inscribed "Ed. 70" in pencil, lower margin. From a total edirion of 81 plus 5 trial proofs. Printed by Henry E. Carling. Number 18 from the Italian Series. A superb impression of this scarce print, with all of the subtleties and details of the reflections in the water printing clearly. [Fletcher 232] [Illustrated: Page 192, Arms, Dorothy Noyes, "Hilltowns and Cities of Northern Italy"]. Along with his constant companion and wife, Dorothy Noyes, Arms spent decades exploring and documenting gothic structures throughout Europe. Noyes, an accomplished travel writer, had gifted Arms an etching set...

Original movie poster, Linen-backed original Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom pre-release. "Coming May 23rd, 1984. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, the 1984 Steven Spielberg treasure-hunting action-adventure fantasy sequel ("If adventure has a name... It must be Indiana Jones."; "Trust him." Starring: Harrison Ford, Kate Capshaw, Jonathan Ke Quan, Amrish Puri, Roshan Seth, Philip Stone...

Isac Friedlander, 'Run Little Chillun' also 'Revival', wood engraving, 1933, edition 50. Signed, titled and annotated 'New York 1933' in pencil. A sup...

Muse is #43 of 45. It depicts a young woman in a colorful swimsuit doing her best to swim through the blue waters of the pool. Her mouth is pursed and the bubbles flow out. I sold an impression of this image to an olympic swimming...