Past/Present: Central Park

Our new Past/Present post  features  two prints of Central Park by Emil Ganso and Art Werger. Born in Germany in 1895, Emil Ganso was an accomplished painter, wood engraver, and lithographer, specializing in still-lifes, landscapes and nudes. Largely self-taught, Ganso immigrated to the United States in 1912. He first worked as a baker, while pursuing his art on the side. He started showing his work by the mid-1920’s and 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. He settled in Woodstock the following year, benefiting greatly from the artistic company of George Ault, Doris Lee, Charles Rosen, and George Bellows.   In the late 1920s and 1930s, Ganso also kept a studio at 54 West 74th Street, an artists’ building where Walter Pach and Theresa Bernstein had studios. This NYC studio was located just one block away from the west side of Central Park.

Art Werger grew up in the suburbs of New York where he developed a passion for drawing at an early age. After studying illustration and painting at the Rhode Island School of Design, he switched into the field of printmaking. Over the last thirty years, he has focused on etching, aquatint, and mezzotint, and has become an internationally renowned artist in those media- having received over 250 awards in national and international exhibitions. In 2012, he received the Award of the Rector at the International Print Triennial in Krakow, Poland and the Prize for Full Correspondence between Technique and Imagery at the First International Mezzotint Festival in Ekaterinburg, Russia.  Werger, although known for his narrative and lyrical prints based on his  suburban upbringing, has a series of cityscapes, with New York City as his inspiration. Intrigued by the interplay between city lights and cast shadows, Werger creates velvety rich prints of the day-to-day moments that play out in the city, including several of Central Park.

Image on Left: Pine Trees.  (Trees, Central Park).  Emil Ganso. Hard and soft ground etching, 1929.  Edition c.35.

Image on Right: Follow.  [Central Park, New York.] Art Werger. Mezzotint, 2005.  Edition 100.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mary Manusos

“For many years my art has held together as a statement of color and response to places and situations I have experienced. Then in 1976, I become fascinated with the bright colors and light of Mexico.”

Oaxaca Column. [Two pieces stacked.] Mary Manusos. Woodcut on handmade paper, 2010. Monoprint.

We are happy to introduce the work of Mary Manusos to our blog readers. We featured California RB Two. [Hotel California.] and San Francisco LB Two. [Convento San Franciso.] in our RED show, and received many compliments from show attendees on her pieces and work. (San Francisco sold, but California RB Two is still available!) As a result, we recently acquired one of her Oaxaca series prints- a stunning woodcut diptych on handmade paper.

Mary Manusos was born in San Diego, California.  She studied at San Diego State University, then at University of Wisconsin at Madison. Manusos has been creating art for almost four decades and has had numerous single artist shows, juried shows, and has received nine grants. She has written numerous books, including D’ART OBJECTS and Woman’s Self Image. Her work is in numerous public collections including the Museum of Modern Art, Tweed Museum, Cleveland Museum, and the Library of Congress.

Her fascination with the rich colors and textures of Mexican architecture and landscape resulted in the creation of 600 SX-70 photographs, which were manipulated “to accentuate the essence of each particular situation recorded.” The images were edited and published as D’ART OBJECTS, a collaboration between Mary Manusos and John Chakeres, in 1979. These photographs, along with her travels, played an important role in the structure and content of her subsequent art work.

Excerpt from Manusos’ Artist Statement:

“…Prints of landscape and architecture are close up views of a state of documenting then removing from the place they are found.  The resulting portraits of place and form are dismembered and put back together to make new propositions.  These images are usually found in simple situations on the course of a walk.  There is not much that distinguishes one building from another, a ditch, a road, a hedge, a blanket, or a flower.  The distinction comes when I decide to use an image and create its urgency.  The works are in response to what I feel about the Latin American landscape.  A landscape that is given meaning by the lives that it supports.  The variety of ephemera of human intervention and invention on the landscape is of great interest to me.  The history left behind evokes a story as I record it.  I can bring many emotions to the work through the use of my colors and the strength of my lines.  One can feel the weight of the place I am defining and the sunshine that exudes from it’s life force…”

(Mary Manusos, 7/30/09, http://www.marymanusos.com/mmfineartist/Statement.html“

California RB Two. [Hotel California.] Mary Manusos. Woodcut on handmade paper, 2009. Monoprint.

Past/Present: Woman and Hat

Today we  have a new Past/Present post for our blog readers, featuring two fashion prints. Although two different ages, one can only imagine the smartly-dressed woman shown in the 19th century print  catching the eye and sketching pencil of Martin Lewis years later. The similarities -  tightly curled hair, topped with a fashionable red hat- are too striking to ignore.

Image on Left: Un Fantaisie. Published by Jeannin, Place du Louvre, 20, Paris. Lithograph by Formentin & Co., after Compte Calix.  Lithograph, hand-colored, undated. 

Image on Right: Women with Red Hat. Martin Lewis.  Pencil with color crayon, c. 1930. Stamped on verso “Collection of Lucile Deming Lewis”.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mother’s Day

Happy Mother’s Day from the Old Print Gallery

Mexican Madonna. (Mexican Mother.) By Irwin D. Hoffman. Etching, 1944.

Mother & Child.  By Werner Drewes. Graphite on green paper, 1947.

Madonna and Child. By Thomas Handforth. Etching, c. 1928.

Mother’s Joy. Published by Currier & Ives, 125 Nassau St. New York. Lithograph, c.1865.

Greenland Mother Nursing Child. By Rockwell Kent. Lithograph, 1934.

Mother and Child. By Lily Harmon. Etching, c.1966.

Chleuh Mother. By Thomas Handforth. Etching, 1928.

Mother’s Joy. Published by Currier & Ives, 152 Nassau St., New York. Lithograph handcolored, undated.

Japanese Mother and Child. By Martin Lewis. Pencil drawing, undated c.1920.

2013 May Showcase

The Old Print Gallery SHOWCASE
May 2013

The Old Print Gallery Showcase, May 2013 edition, was published early this month. We have sent it to everyone on our mailing list, and they should expect to see it in their mailboxes within the week. We are very excited to be publishing our third catalog,  and more importantly, very excited to give our collectors a glimpse into our inventory.

In this May edition, we cover a lot of territory. We give our readers a peak into our current ROSS/ROMANO show with several colorful collagraphs by the printmaking duo, John Ross and Clare Romano. We also highlight maps of the Chesapeake Bay, including a scarce, large scale sea chart by noted 19th century Baltimore publisher Fielding Lucas, Jr. Flip through our antique print selection and see several furry friends- prints of kittens and dogs pop up on pages 8 and 9. The last ten pages are a sampling of some new (to us) prints by contemporary and early 20th century printmakers- landscapes, still lifes, architectural details, and joyful and hushed moments offer an exquisite and varied selection for our collectors to peruse.

The May Showcase is available online- you can read it, download it, or email it to fellow art collectors and friends.  See it here.

You can also email us with your mailing information, and we will add you to our list so you receive a hard copy of the next issue. Email us at info@oldprintgallery.com.

The prints in the showcase are all online, and can be purchased over the phone at (202) 965-1818 or in person in our Georgetown DC shop. We are open Tuesday- Saturday, from 10:00 AM to 5:20 PM.

New Additions

We have a whole handful of new prints in the gallery- by both contemporary and early 20th century artists. Here is a sneak peek of our newest inventory. To see more, stop by our Georgetown gallery. We have refreshed several of our stacks to showcase our recent additions. We hope you enjoy them!

Moonlight, Number One. By John Taylor Arms. Etching and aquatint printed in color, 1920.

Slow Train through Arkansas. By Thomas Hart Benton. Circulated by Associated American Artists. Lithograph, 1941.

Sun Dappled House. [Savannah, Georgia.] By Ellen Nathan Singer. Etching, 2008.

Laguna Veneta. By James McBey. Etching, 1926.

Forest nocturne II. By Robert Kipniss. Mezzotint, 2000.

Trotting Along. By Alice P. Schafer. Color linoleum cut.

Boats and Gulls. By John W. Winkler. Etching, 1960.

Greenland Courtship. By Rockwell Kent. Lithograph on zinc, 1934.

Honeysuckle. By Mabel A. Royds. Woodcut printed in color, 1935-38.

Delivery. By Art Werger. Etching and aquatint, 2013.

Ryder House, Truro (after Hopper). By Mary Teichman. Color etching and aquatint, 2012.

Past/Present: A Man and his Horse

 

Today we  have a new Past/Present post for our blog readers, with two prints of a man and his horse. These two pairs of travelers are alike in their solitude and the prints are alike in their fantastical use of color. Blazing reds and oranges  pop against the white snow in William Dickes’ The Horse Tamer, while Leo Frank’s color woodcut Man Leading Horse offers a rich palette of deep blues, purples, and greens.

Man Leading Horse is a new print for our gallery- it was acquired during this year’s Capital Art Fair, and is now visible on our website and in person at our Georgetown shop.

Image on Left: The Horse Tamer.  William Dickes. Published London. Chromolithograph, c. 1870. Good condition and color.

Image on Right: Man Leading a Horse (Untitled). Leo Frank. Color woodcut, c. 1925. Good condition with original color.   Fleck in paper (from paper making process). Signed in pencil.