Kerr Eby
September 13, 1918. St. Mihiel [The Great Black Cloud].
1934

Name: September 13, 1918. St. Mihiel [The Great Black Cloud].
Brand: Kerr Eby
Price: 12000 USD
Availability: InStock

About the Item

September 13, 1918. St. Mihiel [The Great Black Cloud]. 1934. Etching, aquatint and sandpaper ground. Giardina catalog 182 state iv. 10 3/8 x 16 (sheet 13 1/8 x 18 1/4). Edition 100. Illustrated: Prints vol. VI, no. 2, 1935, page 85; Print Collector's Quarterly 26 (1939): 82; Fine Prints of the Year, 1935; Eby. War. Provenance: Frederick Keppel & Co. A rich, beautifully wiped impression on cream-colored wove paper. Signed and annotated 'imp' and 'Edition 100' in pencil, indicating a proof printed by the artist. This is Eby's most famous etching. Housed in an archival French mat and a 21 x 25-inch black and gold classical wood frame. The image is based upon his World War I experiences in France. The image depicts an army marching up an incline beneath a menacing dark sky. The soldiers proceed on foot and on horseback past muddy trenches while pushing large artillery. It is an important and rare depiction of the first independent American operation of World War I in which the American Expeditionary Force attacked the German forces at the in Northeastern France. The fighting took place from September from 12-16, 1918 with the Americans successfully taking the ground under what the Germans called 'the cloud of blood.' In 1917, when the United States entered World War I, Eby joined the U.S. Army. He tried to obtain a commission as an artist, but was assigned first to ambulance duty and later as a sergeant in the 40th Engineers in France. During the war he documented in drawing what he saw and experienced and on his return to New York City, he translated his studies into prints. Drawings of his World War I experiences launched his career. He spent most of WWI on the front line camouflaging the big guns. During his spare time, he would sketch everything from the big guns to the dead soldiers in the field. He sent these drawings home each week. Upon his return from the war, these drawings became his inspiration for his first successful group of etchings. He continued creating a series of war-related prints throughout the 1920s and '30s. Many galleries exhibited his work, but Frederick Keppel, the great print dealer and a relative of Eby, was the exclusive gallery for many of his new prints.

Creator:

Kerr Eby (1890 - 1946, American)

Creation Year:

1934

Dimensions:

Height: 21 in (53.34 cm)Width: 25 in (63.5 cm)Depth: 1 in (2.54 cm)

Medium:

Mixed Media,Etching,Aquatint

Movement & Style:

American Modern

Period:

Early 20th Century

Condition:

Gallery Location:

Storrs, CT

Reference Number:

1stDibs: LU33522195263

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Kerr Eby

Kerr Eby was born in 1890 in Tokyo, Japan, the son of Methodist missionaries from Canada. Returning to that country when he was three, Eby grew up studying art, which his parents encouraged, as his mother came from a family of prominent artists. Harold Kerr Eby was born to Canadian Methodist missionaries in Tokyo, Japan, on October 19, 1889. At the age of three his family moved to Vancouver, B.C. and by the time he was twelve, he had lived in Vancouver, Kingston, Toronto and Bracebridge. He worked as a 'printer's devil' on the Bracebridge paper, and at fifteen he took his savings and moved to New York with the dream of becoming an artist After graduating from high school in 1907, Eby moved to New York City to study art, first at the Pratt Institute, and later at the Art Students League.. He enrolled in art classes at Pratt Institute while working for a lithographic firm earning $4.00 a week. His pay barely covered his room and drawing supplies. Within a year, life became desperate for the young artist. Starving and feeling defeated, he left in the spring for home in Canada and was employed by a surveying party in Northern Ontario. While in this northern wilderness, Eby regained his dream of becoming an artist, and in his spare time he started to draw his surroundings. By fall he had saved enough money to return to New York. He attended night classes at the Art Students League while working for another lithographic firm. He spent several more summers surveying in Northern Ontario before he was able to make a living as an illustrator. During this period he formed a number of influential friendships with major artists such as John Henry Twachtman and Childe Hassam and joined a summer artists' colony founded by them at Cos Cob, Connecticut. He supported himself by working as a magazine illustrator and at the American Lithographic Company. Through study and practice, Eby refined both his drawing and printing techniques. Eby was an Associate of the National Academy NA (1930); National Academy of Design (1934); Society of American Etchers; Chicago Society of Etchers; Philadelphia Society of Etchers; National Institute of Arts and Letters. Kerr Eby's work can be found in these collections of the Library of Congress, The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Harvard Art Museums, New York Public Library, Navy Art Collection.