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John Taylor Arms
Medieval Pageantry

1932

$1,100
£846.62
€964.15
CA$1,563.81
A$1,699.92
CHF 890.91
MX$20,689.43
NOK 11,214.38
SEK 10,537.87
DKK 7,200.31

About the Item

A complicated collaboration between two perfectionists. by John Taylor Arms & Kerr Eby Etching on cream laid paper with a deckle edge, 12 5/8 x 8 11/16 (322 x 222 mm); sheet 18 x 11 1/2 inches (457 x 291 mm), full margins. Signed by both Arms and Eby in the lower right margin, dated by Arms. In excellent condition with no visible defects. This plate was the work of both Arms and Eby: Arms doing the buildings, Eby, the figures and trees. It is for this reason the most problematic plate of either artist. According to Fletcher there were 6 states, each of which was printed and reworked by both artists. Between the 5th and 6th state the plate was steeled, desteeled, rebitten and had additional work done by Eby, and then refaced in steel. The 6th state edition resulted in 100 total impressions printed by Eby (50 for Eby, 50 for Arms). Those for Eby were for distribution through Frederick Keppel & Co., and those for Arms for Kennedy & Co. After 62 pullings of the 5th state Eby stopped the edition; defaced the plate, rebit the surface in the center of the plate, particularly in the area of the figures, resteeled the surface and finished the edition with 38 pullings. Since the plate was reworked, this is considered an additional state, bringing the total to 6. This impression appears to be one of the last state impressions from either the edition of 62 5th state impressions, or the group 38 6th state impressions. In the lower right there appear the letters "sb," whether this lends a clue to this particular print's origin is something lost to history. [Fletcher 270B]. Born in 1887 in Washington DC, John Taylor Arms studied at Princeton University, and ultimately earned a degree in architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1912. With the outbreak of W.W.I, Arms served as an officer in the United States Navy, and it was during this time that he turned his focus to printmaking, having published his first etching in 1919. His first subjects were the Brooklyn Bridge, near the Navy Yard, and it was during his wartime travel that Arms created a series of extraordinarily detailed etchings based on gothic cathedrals and churches he visited in France and Italy (the plate for Guardians of the Spire was created in 1921). He used what was available to him, namely sewing needles and a magnifying glass, to create the incredibly rich and fine detail that his etchings are known for. Upon his return to New York after the war, Arms enjoyed a successful career as a graphic artist, created a series of etchings of American cities, and published Handbook of Print Making and Print Makers (Macmillan, 1934). He served as President of the Society of American Graphic Artists, and in 1933, was made a full member of the National Academy of Design. Arms died in Fairfield, Connecticut in 1953.

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