Charles E. Pont Art

FRANCES H. GEARHART and Sisters (THE GEARHARTS) FRUIT FOR SALE c.1928 Color block print. Unsigned. This is an original block print from “Let’s Play”, an intended but unpublished children’s book done in collaboration with her sisters Edna and May in 1928. Image 8 x 7 inches. On a tissue thin laid paper. Irregular sheet 9 3/8 x 8 1/2. The entire series consisted of over 20 children's images. There were very few printed. The editions of the various children varied but likely no more than 50. This impression very well printed with good colors, Very good condition. The margins are likely as issued with the irregular edges. The margins and paper used for this series varies from one print to the next. A bit of tape remnants at top center sheet edge. A very nice example of this print. It is not unusual for impressions of this series to be unsigned, although many are signed "The Gearharts" The Provenance of this example is fascinating. It was acquired from a gentleman who knew the Gearharts as a child in the early 50's in Pasadena. It was part of a collection given to him by Frances. In his adult years he was in the military and took the collection with him as he traveled around Europe, After 81 years, based on the original prints, this book was published by the “California Book...

Louisa Chase was born in Panama City, Panama. Seven years later, her family moved to Lancaster, Pennsylvania. She studied painting and sculpture at Syracuse University and at the Yal...

Jacques La Grange, 'The Start of the Race, 1899', color woodcut, edition 500, 1934. Signed and numbered '21/500' in pencil. A fine impression, with fresh colors, on cream wove paper,...

Charles Quest, 'Underwater', 1948, chiaroscuro wood engraving, edition 12. Signed, titled, dated and numbered '3/12' in pencil. A fine, richly-inked impression, in dark brown and warm black, on off-white wove paper, with full margins (5/8 to 1 1/2 inch), in excellent condition. Scarce. ABOUT THE ARTIST Charles Quest, painter, printmaker, and fine art instructor, worked in various mediums, including mosaic, stained glass, mural painting, and sculpture. Quest grew up in St. Louis, his talent evident as a teenager when he began copying the works of masters such as Michelangelo on his bedroom walls. He studied at the Washington University School of Fine Arts, where he later taught from 1944 to 1971. He traveled to Europe after his graduation in 1929 and studied at La Grande Chaumière and Academie Colarossi, Paris, continuing to draw inspiration from the works of the Old Masters. After returning to St. Louis, Quest received several commissions to paint murals in public buildings, schools, and churches, including one from Joseph Cardinal Ritter, to paint a replica of Velasquez's Crucifixion over the main altar of the Old Cathedral in St. Louis. Quest soon became interested in the woodcut medium, which he learned through his study of J. J. Lankes' A Woodcut Manual (1932) and Paul Landacre's articles in American Artist magazine ‘since no artists in St. Louis were working in wood’ at that time. Quest also revealed that for him, wood cutting and engraving were ‘more enjoyable than any other means of expression.’ In the late 1940s, his graphic works began attracting critical attention—several of his woodcuts won prizes and were acquired by major American and European museums. His wood engraving entitled ‘Lovers’ was included in the American Federation of Art's traveling print exhibition in 1947. Two years later, Quest's two prize-winning prints, ‘Still Life with Grindstone’ and ‘Break Forth into Singing’, were exhibited in major American museums in a traveling show organized by the Philadelphia Print Club. His work was included in the Chicago Art Institute's exhibition, ‘Woodcut Through Six Centuries’, and the print ‘Still Life with Vise’ was purchased by the Museum of Modern Art in New York. In 1951 he was invited by artist-Curator Jacob Kainen to exhibit thirty wood engravings and color woodcuts in a one-person show at the Smithsonian's National Museum (now known as the American History Museum). Kainen's press release praised the ‘technical refinement’ of Quest's work: ‘He obtains a great variety of textural effects through the use of the graver, and these dense or transparent grays are set off against whites or blacks to achieve sparkling results. His work has the handsome qualities characteristic of the craftsman and designer.’ At the time of the Smithsonian exhibition, Quest's work was represented by three New York galleries in addition to one in his home town. He had won 38 prizes, and his prints were in the collections of the Library of Congress, the Chicago Art Institute, the Metropolitan Museum, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. In cooperation with the Art in Embassies program, his color woodcuts were displayed at the American Embassy in Paris in 1951. Recognition at home came in 1955 with his first solo exhibition in St. Louis. Press coverage of the show heralded the ‘growth of graphic arts toward rivaling painting and sculpture as a major independent medium’. An exhibition of his prints at the Bethesda Art Gallery in 1983 attracted Curator Emeritus Joseph A. Haller, S.J., who began purchasing his work for Georgetown University's collection. In 1990 Georgetown University Library's Special Collections Division was the recipient of a large body of Quest's work, including prints, drawings, paintings, sculpture, stained glass, and his archive of correspondence and professional memorabilia. These extensive holdings, including some 260 of his fine prints, provide a rich opportunity for further study and appreciation of this versatile and not-to-be-forgotten mid-Western American artist...

A brilliant, black impression, on cream wove Japan; the full sheet with margins (2 to 2 1/2 inches), in excellent condition. Edition 150. Signed in pencil. Matted to museum standards...

Fritz Eichenberg, 'City LIghts', wood engraving, 1934, edition 200. Signed, titled 'Lights', and annotated 'No 2/200 for Howard M. Chapin' in pencil. Initialed in the block, lower right. A fine, richly-inked black impression, on cream wove paper, with full margins (1 1/4 to 1 7/8 inches); a small loss (5/8 inch) in the top right sheet corner, well away from the image, otherwise in excellent condition. Printed by master printer Ernest Roth...

Rockwell Kent, 'The Bather', wood engraving, 1931, edition 120, Burne Jones 63. Signed in pencil. A brilliant, black impression, on cream, wove Japan paper; the full sheet with margins (2 1/2 to 3 1/4 inches); slight skinning at the top sheet edge, verso, otherwise in excellent condition. Image size 5 3/8 x 7 7/8 inches (137 x 200 mm); sheet size 11 1/8 x 14 1/2 inches (283 x 368 mm). Archivally matted to museum standards, unframed. Impressions of this work are held in the following public collections: Burne Jones Collection, IL; Chegodaev Collection, Moscow; Kent Collection, NY; Philadelphia Museum of Art; Princeton University Library, NJ; Pushkin Museum, Moscow; Smithsonian American Art Museum, Spector Collection, NY. Rockwell Kent (1882-1971), though best known as a painter, graphic artist, and illustrator, pursued many careers throughout his life, including architect, carpenter, explorer, writer, dairy farmer, and political activist. Born in Tarrytown, New York, Kent was interested in art from a young age. These ambitions were encouraged by his aunt Jo Holgate, an accomplished ceramicist. Jo came to live with the family after Kent’s father passed away in 1887 and took him to Europe as a teenager, undoubtedly kindling his interest in exploring the world. Kent attended the Horace Mann School in New York City, where he excelled at mechanical drawing. His family’s financial circumstances prevented him from pursuing a career in the fine arts; however, after graduating from Horace Mann in 1900, Kent decided to study architecture at Columbia University. Before matriculating at Columbia, Kent spent the first of three consecutive summers studying painting at William Merritt Chase’s art school in Shinnecock Hills, Long Island. There he found a community of mentors and fellow students who encouraged him to pursue his interest in art. At the end of Kent’s third summer at Shinnecock, Chase offered him a full scholarship to the New York School of Art, where he was a teacher. Kent began taking night classes at the art school in addition to his architecture studies but soon left Columbia to study painting full-time. In addition to Chase, Kent took classes with Robert Henri and Kenneth Hayes Miller, where his classmates included the artists George Bellows and Edward Hopper. Kent spent the summer of 1903 assisting the eccentric painter Abbott Handerson Thayer at his studio in Dublin, New Hampshire—a position he secured through the recommendation of his Aunt Jo. Thayer’s naturalist lifestyle and almost mystical appreciation for natural phenomena greatly influenced Kent; he returned to Dublin for many years to visit Thayer and his family. Thayer gave the young artist time to pursue his work, and that summer Kent painted several views of the New Hampshire landscape, including Mount Monadnock...

This is a highly collectible woodcut print by Jacques Hnizdovsky. Plate number 64, as per book by Abe M. Tahir, Jr. It is in very good condition. Edition of 100 and individual numbe...

Jacques La Grange, 'Racing in a Storm, 1885', color woodcut, edition 500, 1934. Signed and numbered '21/500' in pencil. A fine impression, with fresh colors, on cream wove paper, wit...

Jacques La Grange, 'The Magic Is Ahead, 1870', color woodcut, edition 500, 1934. Signed and numbered '21/500' in pencil. A fine impression, with fresh colors, on cream wove paper, wi...

Charles Quest, 'Still Life', 1947, wood engraving, edition 8. Signed, dated, and numbered '3/8' in pencil. Titled and annotated 'wood engraving' in the bottom left margin. A fine impression, on off-white wove paper, with full margins (1 to 2 inches), in excellent condition. Scarce. Matted to museum standards, unframed. ABOUT THE ARTIST Charles Quest, painter, printmaker, and fine art instructor, worked in various mediums, including mosaic, stained glass, mural painting, and sculpture. Quest grew up in St. Louis, his talent evident as a teenager when he began copying the works of masters such as Michelangelo on his bedroom walls. He studied at the Washington University School of Fine Arts, where he later taught from 1944 to 1971. He traveled to Europe after his graduation in 1929 and studied at La Grande Chaumière and Academie Colarossi, Paris, continuing to draw inspiration from the works of the Old Masters. After returning to St. Louis, Quest received several commissions to paint murals in public buildings, schools, and churches, including one from Joseph Cardinal Ritter, to paint a replica of Velasquez's Crucifixion over the main altar of the Old Cathedral in St. Louis. Quest soon became interested in the woodcut medium, which he learned through his study of J. J. Lankes' A Woodcut Manual (1932) and Paul Landacre's articles in American Artist magazine ‘since no artists in St. Louis were working in wood’ at that time. Quest also revealed that for him, wood cutting and engraving were ‘more enjoyable than any other means of expression.’ In the late 1940s, his graphic works began attracting critical attention—several of his woodcuts won prizes and were acquired by major American and European museums. His wood engraving entitled ‘Lovers’ was included in the American Federation of Art's traveling print exhibition in 1947. Two years later, Quest's two prize-winning prints, ‘Still Life with Grindstone’ and ‘Break Forth into Singing’, were exhibited in major American museums in a traveling show organized by the Philadelphia Print Club. His work was included in the Chicago Art Institute's exhibition, ‘Woodcut Through Six Centuries’, and the print ‘Still Life with Vise’ was purchased by the Museum of Modern Art in New York. In 1951 he was invited by artist-Curator Jacob Kainen to exhibit thirty wood engravings and color woodcuts in a one-person show at the Smithsonian's National Museum (now known as the American History Museum). Kainen's press release praised the ‘technical refinement’ of Quest's work: ‘He obtains a great variety of textural effects through the use of the graver, and these dense or transparent grays are set off against whites or blacks to achieve sparkling results. His work has the handsome qualities characteristic of the craftsman and designer.’ At the time of the Smithsonian exhibition, Quest's work was represented by three New York galleries in addition to one in his home town. He had won 38 prizes, and his prints were in the collections of the Library of Congress, the Chicago Art Institute, the Metropolitan Museum, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. In cooperation with the Art in Embassies program, his color woodcuts were displayed at the American Embassy in Paris in 1951. Recognition at home came in 1955 with his first solo exhibition in St. Louis. Press coverage of the show heralded the ‘growth of graphic arts toward rivaling painting and sculpture as a major independent medium’. An exhibition of his prints at the Bethesda Art Gallery in 1983 attracted Curator Emeritus Joseph A. Haller, S.J., who began purchasing his work for Georgetown University's collection. In 1990 Georgetown University Library's Special Collections Division was the recipient of a large body of Quest's work, including prints, drawings, paintings, sculpture, stained glass, and his archive of correspondence and professional memorabilia. These extensive holdings, including some 260 of his fine prints, provide a rich opportunity for further study and appreciation of this versatile and not-to-be-forgotten mid-Western American artist...

NORMA BASSETT HALL (1889 - 1957) SHIP ROCK, c. 1940 Color woodcut signed and numbered in pencil, edition 40 on stiff fibrous paper. 10 x 14 inches, Sheet size 11 1/8 x 15 inches...