William Gropper

THE NEW BILL

1941

Sloan, John (American, 1871-1951). FRANKIE AND JOHNNIE. or HIM Morse 236. Etching, 1928. Edition of 100 (but only 50 were printed, by Platt). Dated and Titled in the plate, and Signed in pencil by Sloan and inscribed "100 Proofs," and also signed by Peter Platt. With tack holes and deckled edges. 5 x 8 inches, 126 x 203 mm. (plate), 8 1/2 x 12 1/4 inches (sheet). In excellent condition. From Morse: " A small chorus singing 'Frankie and Johnnie' crowds the tiny stage of the Provincetown Players Theater in MacDougal Street. An episode from E. E. Cummings' intelligent and entertaining production, HIM." (Sloan writing in 1945). "HIM" is about as thrilling an evening's entertainment as I have ever experienced. I liked it thoroughly -- I do not claim to understand it -- I do not believe that a work of art can be, nor need be understood, even by the maker. It seemed to me to be a glimpse inside the cranium of an artist-poet." (Sloan in a letter to James Light, the director of the play) Though Morse says the stars were Hemsley Williams and Goldye Steiner, it was actually Hemliey Winfield (1907 - 1934), the founder of the New Negro Art Theater Dance Group. This company was very successful and highly regarded. It appeared in the Metropolitan Opera's premier of Louis Gruenberg's setting of Eugene O'Neill's "The Emperor...

Marsh, Reginald. HUBER'S MUSEUM. S.14. Lithograph, 1928. Edition of 36 impressions, according to Sasowsky, but inscribed "35 proofs, and signed in pencil. 8 3/4 x 13 1/2 inches, 222 ...

Sloan, John. MAN MONKEY. M.130. Etching, 1905. Edition of 100, Signed by Sloan. Dated in the lower margin "June 13 - 1905," and further inscribed "J. S. imp. dated by Sloan - final s...

Sloan, John. FUN, ONE CENT. Etching, 1905. Morse 131. 2d (published) state. One of the plates from the New York City Life Series. Edition 100, only 60 printed, this being one of an ...

An early serigraph (screen print) by William Gropper. There's a harpist to provide the music and a choir master conducting. The seated members of the group are individually drawn as ...

Not signed. Proof on china paper, for a limited edition of 37 prints. From the satyric newspaper "La Caricature", n.236, May 14th 1835. Cat. Prouté 1974, n.178.

This artwork titled "Liberated Village" c. 1940, is an original lithograph on paper by noted American artist William Gropper, 1897-1977. It is hans signed and titled in pencil by the artist. The artwork (image) size is 12 x 16.5 inches, framed size is 20.25 x 24.25 inches. Custom framed in a black metal frame, with off white matting. It is in excellent condition. An example of this particular artwork is held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. About the artist: William Gropper was born in New York City's Lower East Side in 1897. He was the first of six children to parents who earned small wages working in sweatshops. At the age of fourteen, Gropper left school to help support his family. While carrying bolts of cloth for his deliveries, Gropper began to draw on scraps of paper, sidewalks, and walls. A passerby saw some of these drawings and invited Gropper to attend a life-drawing class at the Ferrer School. He studied there for three years from 1912 to 1915, attending classes taught by Robert Henri and George Bellows. From 1915 to 1918 Gropper attended the New York School of Fine and Applied Art part-time on scholarship. Gropper also won a scholarship to the National Academy of Design, but remained as a student for only a short time; the rigid and systematic institution conflicted with Gropper's belief in the personal nature of art. At the New York School of Fine and Applied Art, Gropper earned several prizes. One of these prizes was for his cartoons, which led him to be hired by the New York Tribune in 1917 to sketch for their features. A few years later through freelance work, his cartoons and drawings appeared in other newspapers and magazines, such as The Liberator, The New Masses...

Work is marked on reverse "Rhythm" and "The Whip." on verso - We are not sure the exact meaning of this work. Gropper was a social realist and a radical of his time and a commenta...