Emil Ganso Prints and Multiples

Emil Ganso, 'Skaters', pochoir (color stencil) with hand painting, edition c. 50, 1938, Smith S-6. Signed in the image, lower right. A rich, painterly impression, with fresh colors, on buff wove paper; the full sheet with margins (7/8 to 1 7/8 inches), in excellent condition. Matted to museum standards, unframed. Image size 11 3/4 x 15 1/4 inches; sheet size 18 3/4 x 13 3/4 inches. An impression of this work is in the permanent collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. ABOUT THE ARTIST Born in Germany, Emil Ganso (1895-1941) came to the United States with his family in 1912. After settling in New York City, he found night work in a bakery and concentrated on his art in the daytime—mostly self-taught at this time, he studied only briefly at the National Academy of Design. In 1924, Ganso showed his drawings to Carl Zigrosser, who organized the artist’s first solo exhibition, at the Weyhe Gallery. Soon afterward, Ganso enrolled in Eugene Fitsch’s printmaking class at the Art Students League. Although he considered himself primarily a painter, Ganso made prints in all media, including relief and stencil prints and complex intaglios, and even experimented with color lithography in the late 1920s. He also developed, with an engineer, the design and fabrication of an innovative etching press. In 1926, Ganso attended the Art Students League summer session in Woodstock, New York. There, he met Jules Pascin, and the two artists began a close friendship, briefly sharing a studio. Ganso followed Pascin to Europe in 1928. In 1929, Ganso returned to New York and showed his work regularly in group exhibitions. He continued working in Woodstock in the summer months, often printing lithographs for other artists. The Cleveland Print Club...

Two Nudes Woodcut, 1928 Signed in pencil lower right (see photo) Edition: 5 in this state Reference: Smith R-86 A, first printing before Weyhe card Provenance: Riverside, New York Collection Condition: Excellent Image/block size: 3 3/4 x 5 1/8 inches Ganso was born in Germany in 1895. At age 14, he apprenticed to a baker and then worked his way to America when he was 17. He worked in bakeries in Scranton, Pennsylvania; and Cincinnati and Akron, Ohio. By 1916, Ganso out of a job, and was living the life of a bohemian in New York City, sometimes on less than 30 cents a week.1 In 1921, Ganso painted a realistic nude on a bedsheet, and was forced by the police to remove it from an exhibition. The bedsheet with the painting was later stolen. He soon had a job baking again at $140 a month, and with time to spare for painting and study. Ganso quit baking in 1925 when a New York dealer gave him financial backing of $50 a week. Ganso prospered from his art after that. His work is in over 15 American museums, and the Print Club of Cleveland awarded him a $500 purchase prize for a wood engraving. A versatile artist, he painted a variety of subjects. (from a profile written by Clyde Singer...

Emil Ganso, 'Autumn', color pochoir (stencil), c. 1930s, edition 50, Smith S-2. Signed in pencil, in the image border, lower right. Annotated '7 Stencil Print ED 50' in pencil, in the image border, lower left. A rich, painterly impression, with fresh colors, on buff wove paper, with full margins (1 1/2 to 1 3/4 inches). Slight rippling at the top and bottom sheet edges; overall toning verso not affecting the image; otherwise in good condition. Image size 10 3/4 x 14 7/8 inches; sheet size 13 3/4 x 18 1/4 inches. Matted to museum standards, unframed. An impression of this work is in the permanent collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. ABOUT THE ARTIST Born in Germany, Emil Ganso (1895-1941) came to the United States with his family in 1912. After settling in New York City, he found night work in a bakery and concentrated on his art in the daytime. Mostly self-taught, he studied briefly at the National Academy of Design. In 1924 Ganso showed his drawings to Carl Zigrosser at the Weyhe Gallery, who organized the artist’s first solo exhibition. Soon after that, Ganso enrolled in Eugene Fitsch’s printmaking class at the Art Students League. Ganso produced prints in many mediums, including relief, pochoir (stencil), lithography, and intaglio. His expressionist approach to printmaking was that of a painter, rather than a draftsman, but many of his graphic works exhibited technical sophistication. He also began experimenting with color lithography in the late 1920s, and he collaborated with an engineer to design and fabricate an innovative etching press. In 1926 Ganso attended the summer session of the Art Students League in Woodstock, New York, where he met Jules Pascin. The two artists began a close friendship briefly sharing a studio, and Ganso followed Pascin to Europe in 1928, where he was exposed to progressive European art movements and advanced printmaking techniques. Ganso returned to New York in 1926 and his work was shown regularly in group exhibitions. In the summer months, he continued to work in Woodstock, where he frequently printed lithographs for other artists. The Cleveland Print Club...

Emil Ganso was born in Halberstadt, Germany in 1895 and came to the United States as a teenager. By 1914 Ganso was taking evening classes at the National Academy's School of Fine Arts while supporting himself as a baker. His work was soon identified by Erhard Weyhe who went on to show Ganso's work at the Weyhe Gallery. Ganso first exhibited at the Society of Independent Artists in 1921, as well as at the Salons of America from 1922 to 1925. By 1925 Weyhe Gallery began to represent Ganso which gave him the funds to spend his first summer in the art colony of Woodstock, New York in 1926. Weyhe Gallery continued to exhibit Ganso's work through the 1940s. In Woodstock Ganso met George Ault, Doris Lee, Charles Rosen, Katherine Schmidt, Eugene Speicher, Alexander Brook, Louis Bouché, Konrad Cramer, Leon Kroll, and George Bellows leading Ganso to settle in Woodstock and continue to benefit from Woodstock connections throughout his life. In 1927, the same year he settled in Woodstock, Ganso began to share a studio with Jules Pascin. Ganso printed Pascin's lithographs and prepared paper for him in 1927 to 1928 while Pascin was in America. In 1929 Ganso visited Pascin in Paris. Perhaps it was this Paris trip that sparked Ganso's interest in photography. By 1930 he was exploring photography as an art form, as well as an aid to his art compositions. Konrad Cramer, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, and Russell Lee were other Woodstock artists who joined Ganso in these photography pursuits. Ganso received a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1933 which he used to study and paint in Europe. In the 1930s Ganso also kept a studio at 54 West 74th Street, an artists' building where Walter Pach...

Emil Ganso, 'Summer Night, Central Park', drypoint, edition 35, 1928. A superb, richly inked impression, in dark brown ink, with rich burr throughout, on BFK Rives cream laid paper; ...