Tom Rost

Packing Fish

1936

In this image, Howard Thomas presents the viewer with a domestic interior. The image is dominated by the figure of a black woman, resting her arm on an ironing board. To the right, the tool of her task dangles a chord above a checker tiled floor. Beyond, though a window, neighboring homes fill the landscape. The careful line-work of the linocut adds a sense of expressionism to the scene, but the image nonetheless falls into the Social Realism that captivated most American artists during the Great Depression. This print was published in 1936 as part of the Wisconsin Artists' Calendar for the year 1937, which included 52 original, hand-made prints – one for each week of the year. 6 x 5 inches, image 10 x 7.13 inches, sheet 12.37 x 12.43 inches, frame Entitled "Monday in Wick Haven" lower left (covered by matting) Inscribed "Linoleum Cut" lower center (covered by matting) Artist name "Howard Thomas" lower right (covered by matting) Framed to conservation standards using 100 percent rag matting and museum glass, all housed in a silver gilded moulding. Quaker-born in Ohio, Thomas trained in the Midwest at Ohio State University and the Chicago Art Institute. He taught in the Art Department of the Milwaukee State Teachers College (now University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee) where he became good friends with Carl Holty, Edward Boerner, Robert von Neumann...

"Noel" is an original relief print by Sylvia Spicuzza. A holiday themed print, this features the image of the virgin Mary and baby Jesus. Image: 4" x 3" ...

"Rest" is an original linoleum print by Schomer Lichtner, signed in the lower right hand corner. It features a man in the act of resting on a stick in the middle of work. Image: 5.6...

"Swimmers" is an original linoleum print by Clarice George Logan. It features five figures enjoying a swim, jumping off from a small boat. Image: 4.94" x 6" Framed: 13.87" x 14.87" Clarice George Logan was born in Mayville, New York in 1909 but moved to Wisconsin in 1921. She attended the Milwaukee State Teachers College from 1927 to 1931 where she studied with Robert von Neumann...

"Meditation" is an original linoleum print by Schomer Lichtner, signed in the lower right hand corner. It features a man in the middle of a project, in quiet meditation. Image: 6" x 8" Framed: 14.5" x 14.37" Lichtner and his wife, Ruth Grotenrath (1912-1988), are celebrated as Milwaukee’s first couple of painting and are regarded as major Wisconsin artists. Lichtner’s impressive production, perseverance, longevity, and positive approach to his life and art made him and his work distinctive and much loved by his many admirers. His work is currently represented in collections at the Milwaukee Art Museum, the John Michael Kohler Art Center, the West Bend Museum, and in the collections of many individuals. Books on the lives and art work of both Lichtner and Grotenrath are in progress and it is anticipated that they will be published next year. Recipient of the 2006 Wisconsin Visual Artist Lifetime Achievement Award The late Milwaukee artists, Schomer Lichtner and Ruth Grotenrath, created original silkscreen prints as a part of their Christmas celebration starting in the 1940's. The subjects and colors varied from year to year but they laboriously printed these little gems themselves. Ruth Grotenrath, 1912-1988, and her husband, Schomer Lichtner, (1905-2006), are celebrated as Milwaukee’s first couple of painting and are regarded as major Wisconsin artists. From the outset, Lichtner and Grotenrath were determined to become full-time artists. Ruth Grotenrath and Schomer Lichtner began their careers by creating numerous murals for the WPA (Work Projects Administration), primarily post offices. A wonderful example can be seen in the Sheboygan, Wisconsin post office. Even during the Great Depression they worked producing Post Office murals under the Treasury Department's Section of Fine Arts (SFA). According to James Auer, former Milwaukee Journal Sentinel art critic, "As art and economic trends evolved, the couple’s palettes brightened and warmed. Both fell under the spell of the Mexican social realists, notably Diego Rivera, and modernists such as Matisse and Dufy. The couple’s perspective changed further after they became friends with philosopher Alan Watts...

"Figure" is an original linoleum print by Gerrit Sinclair, signed in the lower left hand corner. It features a woman fixing her hair in front of a mirror, her nude body visible to the viewer from the back and front reflecting in the mirror. Image: 6" x 5" Framed: 13.37" x 12.43" Gerrit Sinclair brought the charming style of American Regionalism painting...

It is certainly the most appropriate translation of Pascale Hémery’s work, which takes a look at the places visited on a daily basis and during her travels abroad. This look is the...

It is certainly the most appropriate translation of Pascale Hémery’s work, which takes a look at the places visited on a daily basis and during her travels abroad. This look is the...

It is certainly the most appropriate translation of Pascale Hémery’s work, which takes a look at the places visited on a daily basis and during her travels abroad. This look is the...

It is certainly the most appropriate translation of Pascale Hémery’s work, which takes a look at the places visited on a daily basis and during her travels abroad. This look is the s...

It is certainly the most appropriate translation of Pascale Hémery’s work, which takes a look at the places visited on a daily basis and during her travels abroad. This look is the s...

It is certainly the most appropriate translation of Pascale Hémery’s work, which takes a look at the places visited on a daily basis and during her travels abroad. This look is the s...