Ruth Leaf On Sale

Ruth Leaf was an American artist and a pioneer in the discipline of printmaking. While also fluent in the methods of linoleum, monotype, collagraph and collage, she is most known for her viscosity etchings and woodcuts. She authored the book, Etching, Engraving and Other Intaglio Printmaking Techniques (Watson-Guptill Publications) in 1976 while teaching at her namesake studio in Long Island and it remains the textbook used today in many schools. She was born in New York City in 1923, she studied at the New School for Social Research, Art Students League and Brooklyn College and at Atelier 17 with the groundbreaking printmaker Stanley William Hayter. She exhibited her work throughout the United States and abroad and has work in many collections, including the Library of Congress, the U.S. Information Agency, the Butler Institute of American Art and numerous university museums. Leaf has been a member of the Society of American Graphic Artists, the American Color Print Society and regional printmaking groups.

Bring energy and an array of welcome colors and textures into your space by decorating with figurative fine-art prints and works on paper.

Figurative art stands in contrast to abstract art, which is more expressive than representational. The oldest-known work of figurative art is a figurative painting — specifically, a rock painting of an animal made over 40,000 years ago in Borneo. This remnant of a remote past has long faded, but its depiction of a cattle-like creature in elegant ocher markings endures.

Since then, figurative art has evolved significantly as it continues to represent the world, including a breadth of works on paper, including printmaking. This includes woodcuts, which are a type of relief print with perennial popularity among collectors. The artist carves into a block and applies ink to the raised surface, which is then pressed onto paper. There are also planographic prints, which use metal plates, stones or other flat surfaces as their base. The artist will often draw on the surface with grease crayon and then apply ink to those markings. Lithographs are a common version of planographic prints.

Figurative art printmaking was especially popular during the height of the Pop art movement, and this kind of work can be seen in artist Andy Warhol’s extensive use of photographic silkscreen printing. Everyday objects, logos and scenes were given a unique twist, whether in the style of a comic strip or in the use of neon colors.

Explore an impressive collection of figurative art prints for sale on 1stDibs and read about how to arrange your wall art.