Antonio Frasconi Art

"Enshoku Sanju-roku Kasen" (Thirty-six Enchanting Flowers) Woodblock on paper Elegant woodblock print by Toyohara Kunuchika (Japanese, 1835-1900). Three women are in talking with each other inside, while a man waits outside holding a bag of some kind. The colors in this piece are rich and saturated, primarily blues, greens, and purple. Mat size: 16"H x 20"W Paper size: 14.75"H x 9.88"W Born in 1835, Toyohara Kunichika grew up in the Kyobashi district of Edo in the midst of merchants and artisans. In 1848, at age 13, he was accepted as an apprentice into the studio of Utagawa Kunisada I...

The Old Lyme Congregational Church located on Ferry Road, a quintessentially New England landmark, was captured by Walter DuBois Richards. The church was a favorite subject of Old Ly...

Original Washington (D.C.) American Airlines mid-century vintage travel poster. Professional archival linen backed in very fine condition, ready to frame. Featuring one of the ...

John Taylor Arms created this superb architectural image of La Colegiata in 1935 in an edition of 153. It is #12 in his Spanish Churches series and is referenced as Fletcher #284. One of the most characteristic examples of transitional Romanesque architecture in Spain, the church of Santa María la Mayor is inspired by the Cathedral of Zamora, in turn inspired by the Old Cathedral of Salamanca. The tower-dome is usually listed as one of the four most typical in León together with those in the cathedrals of Salamanca, Plasencia and Zamora. The church was begun around 1170, and was finished in the mid-13th century. Two different directors of the work have been identified, according to the different types of stone used (limestone in the old sections, sandstone in the most recent ones), and by the barrel vaults...

Ellison Hoover, 'Pulitzer Fountain, Evening', lithograph, circa 1940, edition c. 40. Signed in pencil. A fine, atmospheric impression, on cream wove paper; the full sheet with margins (1 1/2 to 4 5/16 inches), in excellent condition. Archivally matted to museum standards, unframed. Image size 12 1/2 x 9 5/8 inches (318 x 244 mm); sheet size 16 1/4 x 12 1/4 inches (413 x 311 mm). ABOUT THE SUBJECT The Pulitzer fountain was commissioned as a bequest by Joseph Pulitzer, newspaper publisher and founder of the Columbia School of Journalism. Designed by Austrian sculptor Karl Bitter...

WILLIAM SELTZER RICE (1873 - 1963) THE THAW c 1915-20 Color woodcut, signed and titled in pencil. Image 8 7/8 x 12 inches, sheet 10 3/4 x 14 3/8 inches. On textured fibrous paper. V...

Surimono is a beautiful color woodcut with white and silver gold embossing, made between 1820 and 1846 by the Japanese artist Yashima Gakutei. A young woman is squatting on the floor, holding a musical instrument, the favorite subject of the Japanese master. With a layer of dust, a small hole in the upper margin to the right and some fading, the original print is still in good condition and retains its incredible charm. Really the surimonos are a genre of Japanese woodblock prints, privately commissioned for special occasions. Being produced in a small edition for a mostly educated audience, surimono were often more experimental in subject matter and treatment, and extravagant in printing technique, than commercial prints. Good conditions except a minor fading on top and some brushing of paper. Yashima Gakutei (c. Osaka, 1786 - 1868) The Japanese artist and poet was a pupil of both Totoya Hokkei...

Paul Landacre, 'Laguna Cove', wood engraving, 1935; edition 60 (16 printed), 2nd edition 150 (6 printed), Woodcut Society 200, Wien 247. Signed and titled in pencil. A brilliant, black impression, on cream wove Japan, with full margins (3/4 to 1 3/4 inches), in excellent condition. Archivally matted to museum standards, unframed. This impression is from the edition published for the Twentieth Presentation Print of the Woodcut Society, 1941. Printed by Torch Press, Cedar Rapids. Literature: Reproduced in 'James Swann...

Two Actors - Japanese Woodblock by Toyohara Chikanobu (豊原周延, 1838–1912), better known to his contemporaries as Yōshū Chikanobu (楊洲周延). Colorful and expressive court scene. Two actors...

Gustave Baumann, 'Taos Placita', color woodcut, 1947, edition 125. Baumann 132. Signed, titled, and numbered '20-125' in pencil; with the artist’s Hand-in-Heart chop. A superb, richly-inked impression, with fresh colors, on fibrous oatmeal wove paper; the full sheet with margins (2 to 3 1/8 inches); slight rippling at the left sheet edge, in excellent condition. Matted to museum standards, unframed. Image size 9 5/8 x 11 1/4 inches (244 x 286 mm); sheet size 13 1/4 x 17 inches (337 x 432 mm). Collections: New Mexico Museum of Art, Phoenix Art Museum, Wichita Art Museum. ABOUT THE ARTIST Gustave Baumann (1881-1971) was a renowned printmaker and a leading figure of the American color woodcut revival whose exquisite craftsmanship and vibrant imagery captured the essence of the Southwest. "A brilliant printmaker, Baumann brought to the medium a full mastery of the craft of woodworking that he acquired from his father, a German cabinetmaker. This craftsmanship was coupled with a strong artistic training that resulted in the handsome objects we see in the exhibition today. After discovering New Mexico in 1918, Baumann began to explore in his woodblock prints of this period the light. color, and architectural forms of that landscape. His prints of this period are among the most beautiful and poetic images of the American West." —Lewis I. Sharp, Director, Denver Art Museum Baumann, the son of a craftsman, immigrated to the United States from Germany with his family when he was ten, settling in Chicago. From 1897 to 1904, he studied in the evenings at the Art Institute of Chicago, working in a commercial printmaking shop during the day. In 1905, he returned to Germany to attend the Kunstwerbe Schule in Munich, where he decided on a career in printmaking. He returned to Chicago in 1906 and worked for a few years as a graphic designer of labels. Baumann made his first prints in 1909 and exhibited them at the Art Institute of Chicago the following year. In 1910, he moved to the artists’ colony in Nashville, Indiana, where he explored the creative and commercial possibilities of a career as a printmaker. In 1915, he exhibited his color woodcuts at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco, winning the gold medal. Among Baumann’s ongoing commercial activities was his work for the Packard Motor Car Company from 1914 to 1920 where he produced designs, illustrations, and color woodcuts until 1923. In 1919, Baumann’s printmaking work dominated the important exhibition of American color woodcuts at the Detroit Institute of Arts. Twenty-six of his prints were included, far more than the works of any other artist. A set of his blocks, a preparatory drawing, and seven progressive proofs complemented the exhibition. That same year, Baumann worked in New York and, over the summer, in Provincetown, Massachusetts. His airy images of Cape Cod employed soft, pastel colors and occasionally showed the influence of the white-line woodcut technique. Many of his Chicago artist friends had traveled to the southwest, and Baumann became intrigued by their paintings, souvenirs, and stories of an exotic place named Taos, New Mexico. In the summer of 1918, he spent the summer in Taos sketching and painting before visiting Santa Fe. Paul Walter, the director of the Museum of New Mexico, offered him a studio in the museum's basement. Inspired by the rugged beauty of the Southwest—the vibrant colors and dramatic landscapes of the region became a central theme in his work, influencing his artistic style and subject matter for the remainder of his career. Later in the decade, he traveled to the West Coast and made prints of California landscape. Baumann's prints became synonymous with the Southwest, capturing the spirit of its place in America's identity with a unique sense of authenticity and reverence. His iconic images of desert vistas, pueblo villages, and indigenous cultures served as visual tributes to the region's rich cultural heritage, earning him a dedicated following among collectors and curators alike. A true craftsman and artist, Baumann completed every step of the printmaking process himself, cutting each block, mixing the inks, and printing every impression on the handmade paper he selected. His dedication to true craftsmanship and his commitment to preserving the integrity of his artistic vision earned him widespread acclaim and recognition within the art world. About the vibrant colors he produced, Baumann stated, “A knowledge of color needs to be acquired since they don’t all behave the same way when ground or mixed...careful chemistry goes into the making of colors, with meticulous testing for permanence. While complicated formulae evolve new colors, those derived from Earth and metal bases are still the most reliable.” In the 1930s, Baumann became interested in puppet theater. He designed and carved his own marionettes and established a little traveling company. From 1943 to 1945, the artist carved an altarpiece for the Episcopal Church of the Holy Faith in Santa Fe. In 1952, a retrospective exhibition of his prints was mounted at the New Mexico Museum of Fine Arts. Throughout his prolific career, Baumann executed nearly four hundred color woodcuts. Baumann’s woodcuts...

Paul Landacre, 'Hill', wood engraving, 1936, edition 60 (only 54 printed); only 2 impressions printed in a second edition of 150. Signed, titled, and numbered '49/60' in pencil. Wien...

Original Aspen Colorado town and mountain scene printed in 1975. Artist: Jim Ford. This poster is archivally linen-backed in excellent condition, Grade A, and ready to frame. No...