“Light, Shadow & Time” opens May 20th

Reflections on a Crosstown Vista. By Grace Bentley-Scheck. Collagraph, 2015. Image size 12 1/16 x 12 1/16″ (30.7 x 30.7 cm). LINK.

We are excited to announce our upcoming summer show, Light, Shadow & Time, a group of contemporary prints from 16 talented emerging and established printmakers. The prints selected are an eclectic mix, but all explore the patterns found in our natural and manufactured world. Whether by exploring the layering and rearrangement of natural textures or the effect of light and time on a subject, these artists see compositions in the everyday, the fleeting, the organic, and the microscopic. Light, Shadow & Time opens on Friday, May 20 and runs through Saturday, September 10, 2016.

With an important focus on the temporal and ephemeral interplay between architecture and light, Patrick Anderson and James Haggerty create dynamic scenes out of shifting shadows, highlighting the emotive warmth and coolness of light. Similarly, Grace Bentley Scheck’s collagraph explores the passage of time “recorded in the marks left by functional changes made in structures over many years, by human design or the elements, and in changing patterns of light and shadow as the sun makes its daily journey across the sky.”

Early Morning Light. Patrick Anderson. Serigraph, 2003. Image size 4 1/4 x 4 1/4″ (10.8 x 10.8 cm). LINK.

In a trio of highly patterned, organic collages entitled “Room to Grow” Heather McMordie links the puzzle-like nature of printmaking and geology.  Creating three large editions from one woodblock and one lithographic stone, and then drawing on, cutting apart, and piecing together these editions, McMordie takes the composition in as many different directions as possible, paralleling how a combination of just a few elements can create countless different minerals, rocks, and soils. Pattern in nature is further explored in Barbara Milton’s dizzying examination of layered tree leaves, Cleo Wilkinsons’ haunting portrait of the folds and subtle curves of a hibiscus flower, and Nancy Previs’ intimate, mystical composition of water flowing over rough rock, printed in green tint.

All together, the show encourages the viewers to pause, see, and reflect on the spaces, natural or man-made, that they occupy throughout the day.

Selected Artists: Patrick Anderson, Philip Bennet, Grace Bentley Scheck, Steven Brigidi, Richard T. Davis, James Haggerty, Heather McMordie, Barbara Minton, Jake Muirhead, Ilse Schreiber-Noll, Ellen Nathan Singer, Nancy Previs, Steven Walker, Larry Welo, Art Werger, and Cleo Wilkinson.

Celestial Light. [The Metropolitan Museum of Art.] By James Haggerty. Etching and chine colle, 2004. Image size 11 11/6 x 5 13/16″ (297 x 147 mm). LINK.

Verdure. By Barbara Minton. Etching and aquatint printed in color, 2000. Image size 17 3/8 x 14 3/4″ (44.1 x 37.5 cm). LINK.

FEATHERED

Old Squaws #2. By Frank W. Benson. Etching, 1921. Ed 150. LINK.

The Old Print Gallery is pleased to announce its new winter show, FEATHERED, which will open on February 19^th and run through April 9^th, 2016. FEATHERED will celebrate the beauty, power, and reverence of winged animals, captured in prints. Artists have been forever fascinated by birds and their ability to gracefully navigate the open skies on stretched wings, suspended between earth, sky, and water, hopping from perch to perch. FEATHERED showcases the work of three celebrated natural history and ornithological printmakers from the 20^th century- Frank W. Benson, H. Emerson Tuttle, and Stow Wengenroth. Each artist offers a unique, distinctive approach to depicting birds is in their prints, which makes for a varied and compelling grouping on the wall.

The prints of Frank W. Benson (1862-1951), nicknamed the father of sporting art, suggest the perspective of a naturalist and bird hunter. His close and watchful examination of a bird’s flight path and tendencies in the water offer a firsthand record of nature, gleaned not from dead models in a studio, but from a close familiarity of birds in the wild. Captured in Benson’s spare compositions and delicate line work, their vital essence is expressed in the way the birds move through their environment- sunlight and shadows hitting their winged bodies in flight, ripples in water as ducks float through still marshes, traces of a whole flock of birds dotting the horizon.

Aquiline Eagle (Eagle Head). H. Emerson Tuttle. Drypoint, 1937. Ed. 45. LINK.

H. Emerson Tuttle (1890-1946), devoted much of his career to drawing and etching prints of birds, both from life, and using stuffed specimens in his studio. Arresting and commanding, his prints take on the appearance of formal seated portraits. Intricate detail is given to the patterns of feathers, the cock of the head, and oftentimes, the direct gaze of the bird. Tuttle’s prints are unswerving and full of personality- his birds take center stage and are only sometimes supported by a background. Tuttle captures their beauty and dynamism with his drypoint needle, imbuing his birds with almost human-like dispositions.

In contrast, Stow Wengenroth (1906-1978) is known for his landscapes, so his birds appear in their expected and rightful place, perched in mottled tree branches, exploring sand dunes, and in flight, weaving among shadows of trees. Birds play a principal part of his New England landscapes, adding movement and breathing life into his lithographic sceneries.

Breakwater. Stow Wengenroth. Lithograph, 1986. Ed. 50. LINK.

Share this post:

Thanksgiving Hours

Great American Cock, Male. (Wild Turkey). Plate 1. John James Audubon. Handcolored engraving, 1827-38. Paper size size 39 x 26″ (990 x 606 mm). From the first printed edition of John James Audubon’s “Birds of America.” Engraved, printed, and colored by W. H. Lizars, Edinburgh. A true first printing by Lizars. This particular plate is often found with severe damages, as it was the first plate in the first volume, but this impression is unusually fine.

Holiday Hours 

Tuesday, November 24: 10:00am to 5:20pm

Wednesday, November 25: 10:00am to 2:00pm (closing early)

Thursday, November 26: CLOSED FOR THANKSGIVING

Friday, November 27: 10:00am to 5:20pm

Saturday, November 28: 10:00am to 5:20pm

Share this post:

Our Mixed Winter Show is now on view at The Old Print Gallery. Stop by our Georgetown shop to see these stunning original 20th century and contemporary prints.