Lynd Ward Prints and Multiples
American, 1905-1985
Lynd Ward was an American artist and storyteller, known for his series of wordless novels using wood engraving, and his illustrations for juvenile and adult books. His wordless novels have influenced the development of the graphic novel. Strongly associated with his wood engravings, he also worked in watercolor, oil, brush and ink, lithography and mezzotint. Ward was the son of Methodist minister and political organizer Harry F. Ward.
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Artist: Lynd Ward
'Madman's Drum (Plate 41)' — 1930s Graphic Modernism
By Lynd Ward
Located in Myrtle Beach, SC
Lynd Ward, 'Madman's Drum, Plate 41', wood engraving, 1930, edition small. Signed in pencil. A fine, black impression, on off-white tissue-thin Japan paper; the full sheet with margins (1 5/8 to 2 1/2 inches); a small paper blemish in the upper right margin, away from the image, otherwise in excellent condition. Scarce. Matted to museum standards, unframed.
Image size 5 1/2 x 3 3/4 inches (140 x 95 mm); sheet size 9 5/8 x 7 1/8 inches (244 x 181 mm).
From Lynd Ward’s book of illustrations without words, 'Madman’s Drum', Jonathan Cape and Harrison Smith, New York, 1930. Illustrated in 'Storyteller Without Words: The Wood Engravings of Lynd Ward', Harry Abrams, New York, 1974.
Reproduced in 'Storyteller Without Words, the Wood Engravings of Lynd Ward', Harry N. Abrams, New York, 1974.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Lynd Ward is acknowledged as one of America’s foremost wood engravers and book illustrators of the first half of the twentieth century. His innovative use of narrative printmaking as a stand-alone storytelling vehicle was uniquely successful in reaching a broad audience. The powerful psychological intensity of his work, celebrated for its dynamic design, technical precision, and compelling dramatic content, finds resonance in the literature of Poe, Melville, and Hawthorne. Like these classic American writers, Ward was concerned with the themes of man’s inner struggles and the role of the subconscious in determining his destiny. An artist of social conscience during the Great Depression and World War II, he infused his graphic images with his unique brand of social realism, deftly portraying the problems that challenged the ideals of American society.
The son of a Methodist preacher, Lynd Ward, moved from Chicago to Massachusetts at an early age. He graduated from the Teachers College of Columbia University, New York, in 1926, where he studied illustration and graphic arts. He married May Yonge McNeer in 1936 and left for Europe for their honeymoon in Eastern Europe. After four months, they settled in Leipzig, where Ward studied at the National Academy of Graphic Arts and Bookmaking. Inspired by Belgian expressionist artist Frans Masereel's graphic novel ‘The Sun,’ and another graphic novel by the German artist Otto Nückel, ‘Destiny,’ he determined to create his own "wordless" novel. Upon his return to America, Ward completed his first book, ‘God's Man: A Novel in Woodcuts,’ published in 1929. ‘Gods’ Man’ was a great success for its author and publisher and was reprinted four times in 1930, including a British edition. This book and several which followed it, ‘Madman’s Drum,’ 1930, ‘Wild Pilgrimage...
Category
1930s American Modern Lynd Ward Prints and Multiples
Materials
Woodcut
'Judges' from 'In Praise of Folly' — 1940s Graphic Modernism
By Lynd Ward
Located in Myrtle Beach, SC
Lynd Ward, 'Judges' from the series 'Moriae Encomium (In Praise of Folly),' mezzotint, 1943, no edition, proofs only. Signed, dated, and titled in pencil. A superb, richly-inked impression, on cream wove paper; the full sheet with margins (1 1/4 to 2 inches) in excellent condition. Scarce. Matted to museum standards, unframed.
Image size 7 13/16 x 4 7/8 inches (198 x 124 mm); sheet size 10 3/4 x 8 1/8 inches (273 x 206 mm).
Created by the artist for 'Erasmus's Moriae Encomium,' or 'In Praise of Folly,' published by the Limited Editions Club, 1943. A rare, signed, proof impression apart from the Limited Editions Club publication.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Lynd Ward is acknowledged as one of America’s foremost wood engravers and book illustrators of the first half of the twentieth century. His innovative use of narrative printmaking as a stand-alone storytelling vehicle was uniquely successful in reaching a broad audience. The powerful psychological intensity of his work, celebrated for its dynamic design, technical precision, and compelling dramatic content, finds resonance in the literature of Poe, Melville, and Hawthorne. Like these classic American writers, Ward was concerned with the themes of man’s inner struggles and the role of the subconscious in determining his destiny. An artist of social conscience during the Great Depression and World War II, he infused his graphic images with his unique brand of social realism, deftly portraying the problems that challenged the ideals of American society.
The son of a Methodist preacher, Lynd Ward, moved from Chicago to Massachusetts at an early age. He graduated from the Teachers College of Columbia University, New York, in 1926, where he studied illustration and graphic arts. He married May Yonge McNeer in 1936 and left for Europe for their honeymoon in Eastern Europe. After four months, they settled in Leipzig, where Ward studied at the National Academy of Graphic Arts and Bookmaking. Inspired by Belgian expressionist artist Frans Masereel's graphic novel ‘The Sun,’ and another graphic novel by the German artist Otto Nückel, ‘Destiny,’ he determined to create his own "wordless" novel. Upon his return to America, Ward completed his first book, ‘God's Man: A Novel in Woodcuts,’ published in 1929. ‘Gods’ Man’ was a great success for its author and publisher and was reprinted four times in 1930, including a British edition. This book and several which followed it, ‘Madman’s Drum,’ 1930, ‘Wild Pilgrimage,’ 1932, ‘Prelude to a Million Years,’ 1933, ‘Song Without Words,' 1936, ‘Vertigo,’ 1937; and ‘Last Unfinished Wordless Novel’ (created in the 1960s and published in 2001) were comprised solely of Ward's wood engravings. Ward designed each graphic image to occupy an entire page, the sequence of which conveys the story's narrative.
In 1937, Ward was named Director of the Graphic Arts Division of the Federal Art Project, a division of the Works Progress Administration (WPA). In the following years, Ward went on to illustrate more than one hundred books (some of which he wrote), including classics for the Limited Editions Club Goethe’s ‘Faust,’ Faulkner’s ‘A Green Bough,’ and Mary Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein,’ and several children’s books. He also produced single-subject wood engravings, paintings, and drawings. His print ‘Sanctuary,’ 1939, was shown at the 1939 New York World’s Fair, and ‘Clouded Over,’ 1948, received the 1948 Library of Congress Award and was included in ‘American Prize Prints of the 20th Century’ by Albert Reese. He received the National Academy of Design Print Award (1949), the New York Times Best Illustrated Award (1973), and the Regina Award (Catholic Library Association, 1975). ‘The Biggest Bear,’ a children’s book with illustrations by Ward, was the recipient of the esteemed 1952 Caldecott Medal of the American Library Association.
An Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Painter-Etchers and Engravers, Ward was a member and board member of the National Academy of Design and the Artists’ League of America. He served several terms as president of the Society of American Graphic Artists and was a member of the American Artists Congress and the Society of Illustrators. Ward exhibited at the American Artists Congress; the National Academy of Design; the John Herron Art Institute; and the Library of Congress. He had a one-person show at Associated American Artists, NY, on the publication of his monograph 'Storyteller Without Words,' 1974; AAA mounted a memorial exhibition in 1986. The May 1976 issue of 'Bibliognost,' a book collector’s publication, was dedicated to Ward. ‘Lynd Ward, His Bookplate Designs,’ an article by Dan Burne Jones, was published in the American Society of Bookplate Collectors and Designers Yearbook, 1981/82.
In 2001, sixteen years after his death, Rutgers University Libraries published ’Lynd Ward’s Last Unfinished Wordless Novel.’ The blocks were intended to be part of a novel in woodcuts, the first since Vertigo, but Ward did not live to complete the project. Master printer and book designer Barbara Henry collated and printed the twenty-six finished blocks out of the forty-four initially planned for the still unnamed narrative.
In 2010 the Library of America honored Ward’s achievements with the meticulous production of a collection of Ward’s woodcut novels—the first time the Library had gone wordless. The publication replicated his original editions with a single full-size image printed on the right page of each double-page spread. In his introduction to the books, renowned cartoonist/illustrator Art...
Category
1940s American Modern Lynd Ward Prints and Multiples
Materials
Mezzotint
'Doctor' from 'In Praise of Folly' — 1940s Graphic Modernism
By Lynd Ward
Located in Myrtle Beach, SC
Lynd Ward, 'Doctor' from the series 'Moriae Encomium (In Praise of Folly),' mezzotint, 1943, no edition, proofs only. Signed in pencil. A superb, richly-inked impression, on cream wove paper; the full sheet with margins (1 to 1 3/4 inches) in excellent condition. Matted to museum standards, unframed. Scarce.
Image size 7 3/4 x 4 3/4 inches (197 x 121 mm); sheet size 10 11/16 x 8 1/16 inches (271 x 204 mm).
Created by the artist for 'Erasmus's Moriae Encomium,' or 'In Praise of Folly,' published by the Limited Editions Club, 1943. A rare, signed, proof impression apart from the Limited Editions Club publication.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Lynd Ward is acknowledged as one of America’s foremost wood engravers and book illustrators of the first half of the twentieth century. His innovative use of narrative printmaking as a stand-alone storytelling vehicle was uniquely successful in reaching a broad audience. The powerful psychological intensity of his work, celebrated for its dynamic design, technical precision, and compelling dramatic content, finds resonance in the literature of Poe, Melville, and Hawthorne. Like these classic American writers, Ward was concerned with the themes of man’s inner struggles and the role of the subconscious in determining his destiny. An artist of social conscience during the Great Depression and World War II, he infused his graphic images with his unique brand of social realism, deftly portraying the problems that challenged the ideals of American society.
The son of a Methodist preacher, Lynd Ward, moved from Chicago to Massachusetts at an early age. He graduated from the Teachers College of Columbia University, New York, in 1926, where he studied illustration and graphic arts. He married May Yonge McNeer in 1936 and left for Europe for their honeymoon in Eastern Europe. After four months, they settled in Leipzig, where Ward studied at the National Academy of Graphic Arts and Bookmaking. Inspired by Belgian expressionist artist Frans Masereel's graphic novel ‘The Sun,’ and another graphic novel by the German artist Otto Nückel, ‘Destiny,’ he determined to create his own "wordless" novel. Upon his return to America, Ward completed his first book, ‘God's Man: A Novel in Woodcuts,’ published in 1929. ‘Gods’ Man’ was a great success for its author and publisher and was reprinted four times in 1930, including a British edition. This book and several which followed it, ‘Madman’s Drum,’ 1930, ‘Wild Pilgrimage,’ 1932, ‘Prelude to a Million Years,’ 1933, ‘Song Without Words,' 1936, ‘Vertigo,’ 1937; and ‘Last Unfinished Wordless Novel’ (created in the 1960s and published in 2001) were comprised solely of Ward's wood engravings. Ward designed each graphic image to occupy an entire page, the sequence of which conveys the story's narrative.
In 1937, Ward was named Director of the Graphic Arts Division of the Federal Art Project, a division of the Works Progress Administration (WPA). In the following years, Ward went on to illustrate more than one hundred books (some of which he wrote), including classics for the Limited Editions Club Goethe’s ‘Faust,’ Faulkner’s ‘A Green Bough,’ and Mary Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein,’ and several children’s books. He also produced single-subject wood engravings, paintings, and drawings. His print ‘Sanctuary,’ 1939, was shown at the 1939 New York World’s Fair, and ‘Clouded Over,’ 1948, received the 1948 Library of Congress Award and was included in ‘American Prize Prints of the 20th Century’ by Albert Reese. He received the National Academy of Design Print Award (1949), the New York Times Best Illustrated Award (1973), and the Regina Award (Catholic Library Association, 1975). ‘The Biggest Bear,’ a children’s book with illustrations by Ward, was the recipient of the esteemed 1952 Caldecott Medal of the American Library Association.
An Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Painter-Etchers and Engravers, Ward was a member and board member of the National Academy of Design and the Artists’ League of America. He served several terms as president of the Society of American Graphic Artists and was a member of the American Artists Congress and the Society of Illustrators. Ward exhibited at the American Artists Congress; the National Academy of Design; the John Herron Art Institute; and the Library of Congress. He had a one-person show at Associated American Artists, NY, on the publication of his monograph 'Storyteller Without Words,' 1974; AAA mounted a memorial exhibition in 1986. The May 1976 issue of 'Bibliognost,' a book collector’s publication, was dedicated to Ward. ‘Lynd Ward, His Bookplate Designs,’ an article by Dan Burne Jones, was published in the American Society of Bookplate Collectors and Designers Yearbook, 1981/82.
In 2001, sixteen years after his death, Rutgers University Libraries published ’Lynd Ward’s Last Unfinished Wordless Novel.’ The blocks were intended to be part of a novel in woodcuts, the first since Vertigo, but Ward did not live to complete the project. Master printer and book designer Barbara Henry collated and printed the twenty-six finished blocks out of the forty-four initially planned for the still unnamed narrative.
In 2010 the Library of America honored Ward’s achievements with the meticulous production of a collection of Ward’s woodcut novels—the first time the Library had gone wordless. The publication replicated his original editions with a single full-size image printed on the right page of each double-page spread. In his introduction to the books, renowned cartoonist/illustrator Art...
Category
1940s American Modern Lynd Ward Prints and Multiples
Materials
Mezzotint
'Dogs of War' from 'In Praise of Folly' — 1940s Graphic Modernism
By Lynd Ward
Located in Myrtle Beach, SC
Lynd Ward, 'Dogs of War' from the series 'Moriae Encomium (The Praise of Folly),' mezzotint, 1943, no edition, proofs only. Signed in pencil. A superb, richly-inked impression, on cream wove paper; the full sheet with margins (1 3/8 to 1 7/8 inches) in excellent condition. A proof impression apart from the Limited Editions Club impressions. Matted to museum standards, unframed. Scarce.
Image size 7 3/4 x 4 13/16 inches (197 x 122 mm); sheet size 10 11/16 x 8 1/16 inches (271 x 204 mm).
Created by the artist for 'Erasmus's Moriae Encomium,' or 'In Praise of Folly,' published by the Limited Editions Club, 1943. A rare, signed, proof impression apart from the Limited Editions Club publication.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Lynd Ward is acknowledged as one of America’s foremost wood engravers and book illustrators of the first half of the twentieth century. His innovative use of narrative printmaking as a stand-alone storytelling vehicle was uniquely successful in reaching a broad audience. The powerful psychological intensity of his work, celebrated for its dynamic design, technical precision, and compelling dramatic content, finds resonance in the literature of Poe, Melville, and Hawthorne. Like these classic American writers, Ward was concerned with the themes of man’s inner struggles and the role of the subconscious in determining his destiny. An artist of social conscience during the Great Depression and World War II, he infused his graphic images with his unique brand of social realism, deftly portraying the problems that challenged the ideals of American society.
The son of a Methodist preacher, Lynd Ward, moved from Chicago to Massachusetts at an early age. He graduated from the Teachers College of Columbia University, New York, in 1926, where he studied illustration and graphic arts. He married May Yonge McNeer in 1936 and left for Europe for their honeymoon in Eastern Europe. After four months, they settled in Leipzig, where Ward studied at the National Academy of Graphic Arts and Bookmaking. Inspired by Belgian expressionist artist Frans Masereel's graphic novel ‘The Sun,’ and another graphic novel by the German artist Otto Nückel, ‘Destiny,’ he determined to create his own "wordless" novel. Upon his return to America, Ward completed his first book, ‘God's Man: A Novel in Woodcuts,’ published in 1929. ‘Gods’ Man’ was a great success for its author and publisher and was reprinted four times in 1930, including a British edition. This book and several which followed it, ‘Madman’s Drum,’ 1930, ‘Wild Pilgrimage,’ 1932, ‘Prelude to a Million Years,’ 1933, ‘Song Without Words,' 1936, ‘Vertigo,’ 1937; and ‘Last Unfinished Wordless Novel’ (created in the 1960s and published in 2001) were comprised solely of Ward's wood engravings. Ward designed each graphic image to occupy an entire page, the sequence of which conveys the story's narrative.
In 1937, Ward was named Director of the Graphic Arts Division of the Federal Art Project, a division of the Works Progress Administration (WPA). In the following years, Ward went on to illustrate more than one hundred books (some of which he wrote), including classics for the Limited Editions Club Goethe’s ‘Faust,’ Faulkner’s ‘A Green Bough,’ and Mary Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein,’ and several children’s books. He also produced single-subject wood engravings, paintings, and drawings. His print ‘Sanctuary,’ 1939, was shown at the 1939 New York World’s Fair, and ‘Clouded Over,’ 1948, received the 1948 Library of Congress Award and was included in ‘American Prize Prints of the 20th Century’ by Albert Reese. He received the National Academy of Design Print Award (1949), the New York Times Best Illustrated Award (1973), and the Regina Award (Catholic Library Association, 1975). ‘The Biggest Bear,’ a children’s book with illustrations by Ward, was the recipient of the esteemed 1952 Caldecott Medal of the American Library Association.
An Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Painter-Etchers and Engravers, Ward was a member and board member of the National Academy of Design and the Artists’ League of America. He served several terms as president of the Society of American Graphic Artists and was a member of the American Artists Congress and the Society of Illustrators. Ward exhibited at the American Artists Congress; the National Academy of Design; the John Herron Art Institute; and the Library of Congress. He had a one-person show at Associated American Artists, NY, on the publication of his monograph 'Storyteller Without Words,' 1974; AAA mounted a memorial exhibition in 1986. The May 1976 issue of 'Bibliognost,' a book collector’s publication, was dedicated to Ward. ‘Lynd Ward, His Bookplate Designs,’ an article by Dan Burne Jones, was published in the American Society of Bookplate Collectors and Designers Yearbook, 1981/82.
In 2001, sixteen years after his death, Rutgers University Libraries published ’Lynd Ward’s Last Unfinished Wordless Novel.’ The blocks were intended to be part of a novel in woodcuts, the first since Vertigo, but Ward did not live to complete the project. Master printer and book designer Barbara Henry collated and printed the twenty-six finished blocks out of the forty-four initially planned for the still unnamed narrative.
In 2010 the Library of America honored Ward’s achievements with the meticulous production of a collection of Ward’s woodcut novels—the first time the Library had gone wordless. The publication replicated his original editions with a single full-size image printed on the right page of each double-page spread. In his introduction to the books, renowned cartoonist/illustrator Art...
Category
1940s American Modern Lynd Ward Prints and Multiples
Materials
Mezzotint
'Priests' from 'In Praise of Folly' — 1940s Graphic Modernism
By Lynd Ward
Located in Myrtle Beach, SC
Lynd Ward, 'Priests' from the series 'Moriae Encomium (The Praise of Folly)', mezzotint, 1943, no edition, proofs only. Signed in pencil. A superb, richly-inked impression, on cream wove paper; the full sheet with margins (1 1/4 to 2 inches) in excellent condition. Matted to museum standards, unframed. Scarce.
Image size 7 3/4 x 4 3/4 inches (197 x 121 mm); sheet size 10 11/16 x 8 1/16 inches (271 x 204 mm).
Created by the artist for 'Erasmus's Moriae Encomium,' or 'In Praise of Folly,' published by the Limited Editions Club, 1943. A rare, signed, proof impression apart from the Limited Editions Club publication.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Lynd Ward is acknowledged as one of America’s foremost wood engravers and book illustrators of the first half of the twentieth century. His innovative use of narrative printmaking as a stand-alone storytelling vehicle was uniquely successful in reaching a broad audience. The powerful psychological intensity of his work, celebrated for its dynamic design, technical precision, and compelling dramatic content, finds resonance in the literature of Poe, Melville, and Hawthorne. Like these classic American writers, Ward was concerned with the themes of man’s inner struggles and the role of the subconscious in determining his destiny. An artist of social conscience during the Great Depression and World War II, he infused his graphic images with his unique brand of social realism, deftly portraying the problems that challenged the ideals of American society.
The son of a Methodist preacher, Lynd Ward, moved from Chicago to Massachusetts at an early age. He graduated from the Teachers College of Columbia University, New York, in 1926, where he studied illustration and graphic arts. He married May Yonge McNeer in 1936 and left for Europe for their honeymoon in Eastern Europe. After four months, they settled in Leipzig, where Ward studied at the National Academy of Graphic Arts and Bookmaking. Inspired by Belgian expressionist artist Frans Masereel's graphic novel ‘The Sun,’ and another graphic novel by the German artist Otto Nückel, ‘Destiny,’ he determined to create his own "wordless" novel. Upon his return to America, Ward completed his first book, ‘God's Man: A Novel in Woodcuts,’ published in 1929. ‘Gods’ Man’ was a great success for its author and publisher and was reprinted four times in 1930, including a British edition. This book and several which followed it, ‘Madman’s Drum,’ 1930, ‘Wild Pilgrimage,’ 1932, ‘Prelude to a Million Years,’ 1933, ‘Song Without Words,' 1936, ‘Vertigo,’ 1937; and ‘Last Unfinished Wordless Novel’ (created in the 1960s and published in 2001) were comprised solely of Ward's wood engravings. Ward designed each graphic image to occupy an entire page, the sequence of which conveys the story's narrative.
In 1937, Ward was named Director of the Graphic Arts Division of the Federal Art Project, a division of the Works Progress Administration (WPA). In the following years, Ward went on to illustrate more than one hundred books (some of which he wrote), including classics for the Limited Editions Club Goethe’s ‘Faust,’ Faulkner’s ‘A Green Bough,’ and Mary Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein,’ and several children’s books. He also produced single-subject wood engravings, paintings, and drawings. His print ‘Sanctuary,’ 1939, was shown at the 1939 New York World’s Fair, and ‘Clouded Over,’ 1948, received the 1948 Library of Congress Award and was included in ‘American Prize Prints of the 20th Century’ by Albert Reese. He received the National Academy of Design Print Award (1949), the New York Times Best Illustrated Award (1973), and the Regina Award (Catholic Library Association, 1975). ‘The Biggest Bear,’ a children’s book with illustrations by Ward, was the recipient of the esteemed 1952 Caldecott Medal of the American Library Association.
An Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Painter-Etchers and Engravers, Ward was a member and board member of the National Academy of Design and the Artists’ League of America. He served several terms as president of the Society of American Graphic Artists and was a member of the American Artists Congress and the Society of Illustrators. Ward exhibited at the American Artists Congress; the National Academy of Design; the John Herron Art Institute; and the Library of Congress. He had a one-person show at Associated American Artists, NY, on the publication of his monograph 'Storyteller Without Words,' 1974; AAA mounted a memorial exhibition in 1986. The May 1976 issue of 'Bibliognost,' a book collector’s publication, was dedicated to Ward. ‘Lynd Ward, His Bookplate Designs,’ an article by Dan Burne Jones, was published in the American Society of Bookplate Collectors and Designers Yearbook, 1981/82.
In 2001, sixteen years after his death, Rutgers University Libraries published ’Lynd Ward’s Last Unfinished Wordless Novel.’ The blocks were intended to be part of a novel in woodcuts, the first since Vertigo, but Ward did not live to complete the project. Master printer and book designer Barbara Henry collated and printed the twenty-six finished blocks out of the forty-four initially planned for the still unnamed narrative.
In 2010 the Library of America honored Ward’s achievements with the meticulous production of a collection of Ward’s woodcut novels—the first time the Library had gone wordless. The publication replicated his original editions with a single full-size image printed on the right page of each double-page spread. In his introduction to the books, renowned cartoonist/illustrator Art...
Category
1940s American Modern Lynd Ward Prints and Multiples
Materials
Mezzotint
'Pope' from 'In Praise of Folly' — 1940s Graphic Modernism
By Lynd Ward
Located in Myrtle Beach, SC
Lynd Ward, 'Pope' from the series 'Moriae Encomium (In Praise of Folly),' mezzotint, 1943, no edition, proofs only. Signed in pencil. Annotated 'POPE - CARDINAL - BISHOP' - 1943 in ink, lower left. A superb, richly-inked impression, on cream wove paper; the full sheet with margins (1 3/8 to 1 7/8 inches) in excellent condition. Matted to museum standards, unframed. Scarce.
Created by the artist for 'Erasmus's Moriae Encomium,' or 'In Praise of Folly,' published by the Limited Editions Club, 1943. A rare, signed, proof impression apart from the Limited Editions Club publication.
Image size 7 3/4 x 4 3/4 inches (197 x 121 mm); sheet size 10 11/16 x 8 1/16 inches (271 x 204 mm).
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Lynd Ward is acknowledged as one of America’s foremost wood engravers and book illustrators of the first half of the twentieth century. His innovative use of narrative printmaking as a stand-alone storytelling vehicle was uniquely successful in reaching a broad audience. The powerful psychological intensity of his work, celebrated for its dynamic design, technical precision, and compelling dramatic content, finds resonance in the literature of Poe, Melville, and Hawthorne. Like these classic American writers, Ward was concerned with the themes of man’s inner struggles and the role of the subconscious in determining his destiny. An artist of social conscience during the Great Depression and World War II, he infused his graphic images with his unique brand of social realism, deftly portraying the problems that challenged the ideals of American society.
The son of a Methodist preacher, Lynd Ward, moved from Chicago to Massachusetts at an early age. He graduated from the Teachers College of Columbia University, New York, in 1926, where he studied illustration and graphic arts. He married May Yonge McNeer in 1936 and left for Europe for their honeymoon in Eastern Europe. After four months, they settled in Leipzig, where Ward studied at the National Academy of Graphic Arts and Bookmaking. Inspired by Belgian expressionist artist Frans Masereel's graphic novel ‘The Sun,’ and another graphic novel by the German artist Otto Nückel, ‘Destiny,’ he determined to create his own "wordless" novel. Upon his return to America, Ward completed his first book, ‘God's Man: A Novel in Woodcuts,’ published in 1929. ‘Gods’ Man’ was a great success for its author and publisher and was reprinted four times in 1930, including a British edition. This book and several which followed it, ‘Madman’s Drum,’ 1930, ‘Wild Pilgrimage,’ 1932, ‘Prelude to a Million Years,’ 1933, ‘Song Without Words,' 1936, ‘Vertigo,’ 1937; and ‘Last Unfinished Wordless Novel’ (created in the 1960s and published in 2001) were comprised solely of Ward's wood engravings. Ward designed each graphic image to occupy an entire page, the sequence of which conveys the story's narrative.
In 1937, Ward was named Director of the Graphic Arts Division of the Federal Art Project, a division of the Works Progress Administration (WPA). In the following years, Ward went on to illustrate more than one hundred books (some of which he wrote), including classics for the Limited Editions Club Goethe’s ‘Faust,’ Faulkner’s ‘A Green Bough,’ and Mary Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein,’ and several children’s books. He also produced single-subject wood engravings, paintings, and drawings. His print ‘Sanctuary,’ 1939, was shown at the 1939 New York World’s Fair, and ‘Clouded Over,’ 1948, received the 1948 Library of Congress Award and was included in ‘American Prize Prints of the 20th Century’ by Albert Reese. He received the National Academy of Design Print Award (1949), the New York Times Best Illustrated Award (1973), and the Regina Award (Catholic Library Association, 1975). ‘The Biggest Bear,’ a children’s book with illustrations by Ward, was the recipient of the esteemed 1952 Caldecott Medal of the American Library Association.
An Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Painter-Etchers and Engravers, Ward was a member and board member of the National Academy of Design and the Artists’ League of America. He served several terms as president of the Society of American Graphic Artists and was a member of the American Artists Congress and the Society of Illustrators. Ward exhibited at the American Artists Congress; the National Academy of Design; the John Herron Art Institute; and the Library of Congress. He had a one-person show at Associated American Artists, NY, on the publication of his monograph 'Storyteller Without Words,' 1974; AAA mounted a memorial exhibition in 1986. The May 1976 issue of 'Bibliognost,' a book collector’s publication, was dedicated to Ward. ‘Lynd Ward, His Bookplate Designs,’ an article by Dan Burne Jones, was published in the American Society of Bookplate Collectors and Designers Yearbook, 1981/82.
In 2001, sixteen years after his death, Rutgers University Libraries published ’Lynd Ward’s Last Unfinished Wordless Novel.’ The blocks were intended to be part of a novel in woodcuts, the first since Vertigo, but Ward did not live to complete the project. Master printer and book designer Barbara Henry collated and printed the twenty-six finished blocks out of the forty-four initially planned for the still unnamed narrative.
In 2010 the Library of America honored Ward’s achievements with the meticulous production of a collection of Ward’s woodcut novels—the first time the Library had gone wordless. The publication replicated his original editions with a single full-size image printed on the right page of each double-page spread. In his introduction to the books, renowned cartoonist/illustrator Art...
Category
1940s American Modern Lynd Ward Prints and Multiples
Materials
Mezzotint
Wild Pilgrimage, No. 26
By Lynd Ward
Located in Myrtle Beach, SC
Lynd Ward, 'Wild Pilgrimage', No. 26, wood engraving, 1932, edition not stated but very small. Signed in pencil. A fine, black impression, with full margins (1 1/16 to 3 3/16 inches), on tissue-thin cream Japan paper, in very good condition. Matted to museum standards, unframed. Scarce.
Created by Lynd Ward for his narrative book of illustrations without words, 'Wild Pilgrimage', published by Harrison Smith...
Category
1930s American Modern Lynd Ward Prints and Multiples
Materials
Woodcut
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By Mino Maccari
Located in Roma, IT
Erotic Scene is an original xilography artwork realized by Mino Maccari in 1944. Hand-signed in pencil on the lower right, in the pseudonym of "Jean Baschie" which is the artist's signature in 1944-45 ca. in erotic series artwork...
Category
1940s Lynd Ward Prints and Multiples
Materials
Woodcut
The Gothic Spirit
By John Taylor Arms
Located in Storrs, CT
The Gothic Spirit (also called A Gargoyle, A Gothic Spirit). 1922. Etching and stipple. Fletcher 120. 11 5/8 x 7 (sheet 15 1/4 x 11 1/4). Gargoyle Series #8. Edition 130. Illustrated...
Category
1920s American Modern Lynd Ward Prints and Multiples
Materials
Drypoint, Etching
Erotic Scene - Woodcut by Mino Maccari - 1945
By Mino Maccari
Located in Roma, IT
Erotic Scene is an original xilography artwork realized by Mino Maccari in 1945. Hand-signed in the pseudonym of "Jean Baschie" which is the artist's signature in 1944-45 ca. erotic ...
Category
1940s Lynd Ward Prints and Multiples
Materials
Woodcut
Bailey's Beach, Newport, Rhode Island.
By Clifford Isaac Addams
Located in Storrs, CT
Bailey's Beach (Newport, Rhode Island). c. 1931-1933. Etching and drypoint. Hausberg catalog 126 state vi. Edition 75. 6 x 7 7/8 (sheet 9 9/16 x 12 1/2). Printed on cream wove paper ...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Modern Lynd Ward Prints and Multiples
Materials
Drypoint, Etching
7 A. M. St. Louis
By Art Werger
Located in New Orleans, LA
It's early morning I'm St. Louis in this 2002 mezzotint that is signed and numbered
Art Werger’s lyrical suburban scenes are evocative of boyhood summer evenings while his city imag...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Lynd Ward Prints and Multiples
Materials
Mezzotint
1945 Brazilian Master, Art Deco Nudes Serigraph Woodcut Carnaval Bahia
By Odetto Guersoni
Located in Surfside, FL
Genre: Brazilian Art Deco, African Diaspora
Bahian Carnival
Subject: Abstract
Medium: Print
Surface: Paper
Country: Brazil
Dimensions of overall paper are listed.
This is from a series of work he did in the 1940's, we sold one called Ritmo Negro, they are about Afro-Brazilian jazz, dance and music.
Odetto Guersoni was born in the city of Jaboticabal, State of São Paulo, in 1924. From 1936 to 1941 he attended the Liceu de Artes de Ofícios in São Paulo, beginning his artistic career in 1945, when he exhibited paintings in the Hall of the Plastic Artists Union . Two years later he was part of the collective group of 19, alongside Aldemir, Charoux, Otavio Araújo, Grassmann, Maria Leontina and several other artists that time would make famous. He then practiced a figurative painting of accentuated Expressionist lauds, characterized by deformation and coloring, raw and Satirical- as, moreover, so many of his fellow exhibitors at the time. As a French government scholar, Odette Guerzoni went to Paris in 1947 and the following year took part in the Peintres et Graveurs Etrangers and Art Libre exhibitions. Student of engraving by Renê Cottet, gradually transformed this expressive medium into his favorite, to the detriment of painting, which he practically abandoned soon after.
In 1947, he participated in the 19 Painters exhibition at the Prestes Maia Gallery together with Lothar Charoux, Maria Leontina,Grassmann, Aldemir Martins, Luiz Sacilotto and hiró. Guersoni was awarded a scholarship by the French government, and traveled to Paris, where he began work in engraving. Back in Brazil, in 1951, he founded the Art Workshop, in São Paulo. In 1954, he returned to Europe for a year, financed by the International Labor Organization (ILO). In Geneva, he studied engraving with René Cottet (1902 - 1992) and worked in Stanley william Hayter's studio, Atelier 17, in Paris (1901 - 1988). From 1956 to 1957, he became director of the Union of Plastic Artists of São Paulo. From 1960, he attended, as a trainee, some art schools in the United States and Japan such as The New York School of Printing and Osaka University. In 1971, also in Japan, he attended the workshop of I. Jokuriti. Two years later, he was voted Best Recorder of the Year by the Paulista Association of Art Critics - APCA. He took part in a special room at the Ibero-American Biennial in Montevideo in 1983. The Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo - Pesp presents a retrospective of his work in 1994.
Odetto Guersoni explores the wide spectrum of possibilities of the engraving. In addition to using techniques such as metal etching, lithograph, serigraph, linocut and, especially, woodcut he developed, in the 1950s, the philigraphy, in which the forms he developed gained points of embroidery made by Bonadei (1906 - 1974) . And, in the 1960s, the plastigraphy, in which he makes engravings on pasty surfaces, obtained from gypsum or other soft material. In the 1970s, technical investigations were associated with pictographic, ideographic, archaic symbol searches, Brazilian cave paintings and plant forms. The drawings are reduced to stylized, geometric shapes and transformed into abstract graphic elements. The artist works with few matrices, which, organized in rectangles, squares or circles, become modules to be combined. Guersoni juxtaposes them, adds, changes colors, and thereby composes colorful mandalas and structural geometries. Based on concise compositions, it produces color vibrations through optical illusions. In many of his woodcut works of the 1980s he uses smooth wood, knives, saws, gouges, punches, avoiding the natural textures of wood. In printing, it leaves the vibrant color and employs dosed inks with colorless masses, obtaining transparencies by superpositions. New journeys of study and specialization in engraving techniques took him in 1954 to Switzerland, 1960 to the United States, and in 1966 to Germany and Austria. Today, after having performed more than 40 individuals including 16 abroad and having participated in more than 50 collectives in several countries, Guersoni is considered one of the most notable Brazilian engravers. Conquered awards in several shows.
CHRONOLOGY
Individual exhibitions
1946 - Sao Paulo SP - 10th Salon of the Artists' Union, at the Prestes Maia Gallery
1947 - São Paulo SP - 19 Painters, at the Prestes Maia Gallery
1948 - Paris France - Peintres et Graveurs Etrangers at the École des Beaux-Arts
1949 - São Paulo SP - 13th Salon of the Artists' Union, at the Prestes Maia Gallery
1951 - São Paulo SP - 1st Paulista Salon of Modern Art, at Prestes Maia Gallery - silver medal
1953 - São Paulo SP - 2nd International Biennial of São Paulo, at MAM / SP
1954 - São Paulo SP - 3rd Paulista Salon of Modern Art, in the Prestes Maia Gallery
1955 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - 4th National Salon of Modern Art
1955 - Salvador BA - 5th Baiano Salon of Fine Arts, in Belvedere da Sé - honorable mention
1962 - São Paulo SP - Leirner Prize for Contemporary Art at the Folha Art Gallery - 1st printing award
1963 - Curitiba PR - 20th Salão Paranaense de Belas Artes, at the Public Library of Paraná
1963 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Individual, no MAM / RJ
1968 - Bradford England - First International Print Biennale
1970 - São Paulo SP - Antonio Henrique Amaral, Odetto Guersoni, Tomie Ohtake, Pedro Tort and Gerda Brentani, in the Alberto Bonfiglioli Gallery
1971 - São Paulo SP - 11th International Biennial of São Paulo, at the Biennial Foundation - acquisition award
1973 - Punta del Este Uruguay - 1st Engraving Meeting of the Prata Basin Countries - International Prize
1977 - São Paulo SP - The Groups: the 40's, at the Lasar Segall Museum
1982 - São Paulo SP - Ismenia Coaracy, Odetto Guersoni and Alice Brill...
Category
1940s Art Deco Lynd Ward Prints and Multiples
Materials
Woodcut
H 5.75 in W 8.25 in D 0.1 in
Last Year at Marraketch
By Clinton Blair King
Located in San Francisco, CA
This Artwork Titlled "Last Year at Marraketch" 1972 is an original color etching and aquatint on B.F.K Rives paper by noted American artist Clinton Blair King, 1901-1979 It is hand signed, dated, titled, dedicated and numbered 3/40 in pencil by the artist. The plate mark (image) size is 15.25 x 19.5 inches, sheet size is 21.75 x 29.65 . It is in very good condition. The work of Clinton Blair King is held in many corporate, private collections and museums, among them: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Museum of New Mexico, Smithsonian Museum of Art, Washington and National Gallery of Art, Washington.
About the artist:
EDUCATION
2005 MFA Sculpture: School of the Art Institute of Chicago
2000 BFA Painting: Columbus College of Art and Design
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2016 SPECTRAL EVIDENCE, Stellan Holm Gallery, New York City, NY
2015 OPEN ENDED, Transmitter, Brooklyn, NY.
2008 APATHY, Shiraya Art Space, Tokyo Japan
2001 FOR THE TIME BEING, Ohio Art League, Columbus, OH
GROUP ExHIBITIONS
2017 YELLOW CHAIR, David & Schweitzer Contemporary, Brooklyn, NY
DECONSTRUCTED Terrault Gallery, Baltimore MD
TRANSCENDENCE OF US, Trans-cen-der space, Brooklyn NY
2016 THIS STRANGE GAME, Landmark Arts Building, Chelsea, NY
STONE SOUP NASTY, Orgy Park, Brooklyn, New York, NY
COLD SUMMER, Curated by Peter Shear, The Provincial, Chief, Michigan
"TIKI" Helper Gallery, NADA art fair, Miami FL
2014 BRUTE MODERATES, with Peter Shear, Firework Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
BROOKLYN BRIDGE, Curated by Justine Frischmann. George Lawson Gallery. SF, CA
SUDDENLY THERE, Garis and Hahn, Bowery NYC
DO IT YOURSELF, Curated by Julie Torres / Julia Schwartz B.O.S. Brooklyn NY
LOOK & LISTEN, Curated by Yifat Gat. Espace Art / Galerie & Ateliers. Marseille France
SORRY I"M LATE, Brooklyn Fireproof. Brooklyn NY.
2013 WHAT I LIKE ABOUT YOU, Parallel Art space, Brooklyn, NY
DONUT MUFFIN Dorsky Gallery, Long Island City, NYC
2012 ART BLOG "LOVE", One River Gallery, Englewood NJ
BUSHWICK BASEL, Jules de Balincourt Studio, Brooklyn NY.
ALTER MINIMAL, Lexicon Series Vol. 1, Parallel Art Space, Brooklyn, NY
HIATUS, Urban Institute For Contemporary Art, Grand Rapids, MI
2011 I CAN"T GO ON I MUST GO ON, Tempus Projects, Tampa, FL.
VIS -A -VIS, Backyard Projects- New York, NY
NEITHER A BEGINNING OR END, Possible Projects, Philadelphia, PA
2010 A VAUGE WHOLE, Spaces, with Benjamin Bellas and Steffani Jemison Cleveland, OH
2009 i.e. ARTIST COLLECTIVE, University of Green Bay, WI
i.e. ARTIST COLLECTIVE, Boots Contemporary, St. Louis, MO
2008 FLAT BLACK , Zaim Space, Yokohama, Japan.
i.e.llusions, Alogon Gallery, Chicago, IL
2007 i.e. BETWEEN, Harold Washington College, Chicago, IL
SPLIT ENDS, with Julie Curtiss...
Category
Late 20th Century American Modern Lynd Ward Prints and Multiples
Materials
Etching
Untitled (Portrait of a young woman - wife of the artist)
By Francisco Souto
Located in New Orleans, LA
This is a self portrait of a young woman who is the wife of the artist.
Francisco Souto was born in Venezuela, and received a BFA from Herron School of Art and a MFA from The Ohio ...
Category
Early 20th Century American Modern Lynd Ward Prints and Multiples
Materials
Mezzotint
Hellas
By Clinton Blair King
Located in San Francisco, CA
This Artwork Titlled "Hellas" 1974 is an original color etching and aquatint on Arches paper by noted American artist Clinton Blair King, 1901-1979 It is hand signed, dated, titled, dedicated and numbered 26/50 in pencil by the artist. The plate mark (image) size is 17.5 x 22.75 inches, sheet size is 22 x 29.85 . It is in very good condition. The work of Clinton Blair King is held in many corporate, private collections and museums, among them: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Museum of New Mexico, Smithsonian Museum of Art, Washington and National Gallery of Art, Washington.
About the artist:
EDUCATION
2005 MFA Sculpture: School of the Art Institute of Chicago
2000 BFA Painting: Columbus College of Art and Design
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2016 SPECTRAL EVIDENCE, Stellan Holm Gallery, New York City, NY
2015 OPEN ENDED, Transmitter, Brooklyn, NY.
2008 APATHY, Shiraya Art Space, Tokyo Japan
2001 FOR THE TIME BEING, Ohio Art League, Columbus, OH
GROUP ExHIBITIONS
2017 YELLOW CHAIR, David & Schweitzer Contemporary, Brooklyn, NY
DECONSTRUCTED Terrault Gallery, Baltimore MD
TRANSCENDENCE OF US, Trans-cen-der space, Brooklyn NY
2016 THIS STRANGE GAME, Landmark Arts Building, Chelsea, NY
STONE SOUP NASTY, Orgy Park, Brooklyn, New York, NY
COLD SUMMER, Curated by Peter Shear, The Provincial, Chief, Michigan
"TIKI" Helper Gallery, NADA art fair, Miami FL
2014 BRUTE MODERATES, with Peter Shear, Firework Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
BROOKLYN BRIDGE, Curated by Justine Frischmann. George Lawson Gallery. SF, CA
SUDDENLY THERE, Garis and Hahn, Bowery NYC
DO IT YOURSELF, Curated by Julie Torres / Julia Schwartz B.O.S. Brooklyn NY
LOOK & LISTEN, Curated by Yifat Gat. Espace Art / Galerie & Ateliers. Marseille France
SORRY I"M LATE, Brooklyn Fireproof. Brooklyn NY.
2013 WHAT I LIKE ABOUT YOU, Parallel Art space, Brooklyn, NY
DONUT MUFFIN Dorsky Gallery, Long Island City, NYC
2012 ART BLOG "LOVE", One River Gallery, Englewood NJ
BUSHWICK BASEL, Jules de Balincourt Studio, Brooklyn NY.
ALTER MINIMAL, Lexicon Series Vol. 1, Parallel Art Space, Brooklyn, NY
HIATUS, Urban Institute For Contemporary Art, Grand Rapids, MI
2011 I CAN"T GO ON I MUST GO ON, Tempus Projects, Tampa, FL.
VIS -A -VIS, Backyard Projects- New York, NY
NEITHER A BEGINNING OR END, Possible Projects, Philadelphia, PA
2010 A VAUGE WHOLE, Spaces, with Benjamin Bellas and Steffani Jemison Cleveland, OH
2009 i.e. ARTIST COLLECTIVE, University of Green Bay, WI
i.e. ARTIST COLLECTIVE, Boots Contemporary, St. Louis, MO
2008 FLAT BLACK , Zaim Space, Yokohama, Japan.
i.e.llusions, Alogon Gallery, Chicago, IL
2007 i.e. BETWEEN, Harold Washington College, Chicago, IL
SPLIT ENDS, with Julie Curtiss...
Category
Late 20th Century American Modern Lynd Ward Prints and Multiples
Materials
Etching
Lynd Ward prints and multiples for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a wide variety of authentic Lynd Ward prints and multiples available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Lynd Ward in engraving, mezzotint, woodcut print and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 20th century and is mostly associated with the modern style. Not every interior allows for large Lynd Ward prints and multiples, so small editions measuring 3 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Bernard Brussel-Smith, Gordon Grant, and Samuel Chamberlain. Lynd Ward prints and multiples prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $650 and tops out at $850, while the average work can sell for $850.