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Louis Oscar Griffith
Sunbathing

About the Item

Sunbathing Etching and color aquatint on watermarked Umbria Italy paper, c. 1915 Signed by the artist in pencil lower right (see photo) Annotated: "No. 6" in pencil lower left (see photo) An early color print by the artist Condition: Excellent Plate size: 11-3/4 x 15-7-8" (30 x 40.3 cm.) Frame size: 21 x 26 1/8 x 1 inches Provenance: Estate of the artist By decent Louis Oscar Griffith (1875-1956) Born in Greencastle, Indiana, Griffith grew up in Dallas, Texas where Texas artist and teacher Charles Franklin Reaugh recognized young “Griff’s” artistic talent. At age 18, Griffith moved to St. Louis where he attended the St. Louis School of Fine Arts. In 1895, he moved to Chicago where he worked making color prints for the firm Barnes and Crosby. He attended the Art Institute of Chicago and during a brief stay in New York, the National Academy of Design. A successful commercial artist with a studio in the Chicago Loop, Griffith was a member and president of the Chicago Palette and Chisel Club. He made his first trip to Brown County, Indiana in 1908, intrigued by reports of beautiful scenery by other Chicago-area artists such as Adolph Shultz and woodblock print-maker Gustave Baumann. Griffith’s first exhibition was in 1903 at the Art Institute of Chicago, which by 1824 exhibited more than 60 of his works. He showed almost 70 works at the annual Hossier Salon Exhibition. He won a bronze medal at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco in 1915; in 1921, he was a gold medalist at the Palette and Chisel Club; he won the Daughters of Indiana prize in 1925. The Chicago Society of Etchers recognized his works in 1949 and 1953; an oil, A Tranquil Afternoon, was awarded the Davis Wild Flower and Landscape prize in San Antonio, Texas. The Smithsonian Institution in Washington mounted a special exhibit of Griffith’s prints in 1945. He also exhibited at the 1921 show of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts; the 1926 Sesquicentennial Exposition in Philadelphia; the 1927 second International Exhibition of Modern Engravings in Florence, Italy; the Canadian National Exposition; National Academy of Design in 1943; and the Library of Congress, also in 1943.
  • Creator:
    Louis Oscar Griffith (1875-1956, American)
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 11.75 in (29.85 cm)Width: 15.88 in (40.34 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    Fairlawn, OH
  • Reference Number:
    Seller: FA75971stDibs: LU14015018822