Washington Post Review of “Ink & Grain”

Head of a Traveler. By Adja Yunkers. Color woodcut, 1952. Image size 13 1/2 x 9 1/2″. LINK.

Mark Jenkins, arts writer for The Washington Post, featured our woodcut and wood engraving show, Ink & Grain,  in his most recent column. Follow the link below to read his article, and make sure to stop by the gallery before November 15th to see the show in person.

Mark Jenkin’s Ink & Grain review in The Washington Post, 10/31/14.

(Quick note: Our exhibit  is the last show reviewed, so it does take some scrolling to get to the write up on Ink & Grain).

October 2014 Showcase- Read it Now!

Our new October 2014 Showcase has been sent out to our mailing list, and should hit mailboxes this week. The month’s catalog features a wide range of prints and maps from our collection, focusing on woodcuts and wood engravings.

We share 16th century woodcut maps, woodcut portraits from a scarce 18th century volume covering the discovery and exploration of America, and wood engravings from 19th century illustrator and artist Winslow Homer. The famous Fry-Jefferson map of Virginia can be found on page 6 and 7, and is supplemented with additional examples of great 18th century maps of North America. We highlight several striking Currier and Ives small folio landscapes and pair them with a breathtaking and exquisitely-colored impression of Landscape, Fruit and Flowers, published by the lithographic firm in 1862. We round out the catalog with a sampling of early 20th century and contemporary woodcuts, many of which are are featured in our current exhibition Ink & Grain.

Published in both traditional and digital media formats, we are now able to share our fantastic collection in a whole new way.  We are already working on our next issue, which should arrive during the holiday season. To receive our next Showcase, just send us your mailing information, via email.

Read the October Showcase:

The Old Print Gallery Showcase.
October 2014. Volume XXXVII, Number 3.
Click to read here.

We hope you enjoy it!

2012 HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE: The Foodie

They love to cook and are always the first ones to get reservations to the newest restaurant spot in town. They seek out the most unique and hidden gems of the food world- rare ingredients, specialized cooking tools, and the best cookbooks. They are the foodie.  So what do you get someone who already knows way more about cooking than you do? Why, prints of food and cooking, of course- to decorate their walls and hang in their kitchens. Below are our picks for the foodie on your holiday list. Enjoy!

Tableau des Principaux Champignons Comestibles & Veneneux. By A. D’Apreval. Published in Paris by the Librairie des Sciences Naturalles, Paul Klincksieck, Editeur. Chromolithograph, undated. This is a fascinating poster describing edible and poisonous mushrooms. Thirty mushrooms are shown at various stages, with descriptive French text along sides and bottom. $385.00

Turnips and Scallions. By Pia Oste-Alexander. White-line woodcut, 2001. Signed in pencil. $350.00.

Schattentanz (Shadow Dance). By William J. Behnken. Aquatint, 1995. Inscribed in pencil, “Trial Proof.” $300.00

Cavolfiore – Brussien oleracea cauliflora. (Cauliflower). By Raimondo Petraroja. Published by Raimondo Petraroja, Naples. Lithograph, hand colored, 1872-1886. From “Atlante di Botanica Populaire,” compliled by Prof. V. Tenore and G.A. Pasquale. With original color. $185.00.

Lincoln Brand. Color lithograph, c. 1930’s. Label for Washington Naval Oranges. Handsome image of President Lincoln, with a decorative orange cluster at top right and a wrapped Sunkist orange at bottom. Before the use of mass produced cardboard boxes, fruit growers, packers and shippers printed labels and attached them to the wooden fruit crates or boxes used in shipping. Distributors would use catchy titles, images, and slogans to set themselves apart from other fruit brands. $40.00

Restaurant. By Armin Landeck. Engraving, 1951. Signed and titled in pencil. Inscribed “Ed. 100.” $2,500.00

The Three Graces. By Karen Whitman. Linoleum cut, 2006. Inscribed “18/95.” $250.00

a. Raphanus minor oblongus. b. Raphanus minor oblongus niger. c. Raphanus minor rotundus niger. N. 860. (radish). By Johann W. Weinmann. Published Amsterdam and Ratisbon. Copper engraving printed in color and finished by hand, 1736-45. From Johann Wilhelm Weinmann’s Phytanthoza Iconographia. This beautiful work provides a nearly complete record of the flowers, fruits and vegetables cultivated in the early 18th century. The plates are among the earliest examples of color printing from a single plate. With original color. $525.00

Bottles & Jars I. By Peri Schwartz. Aquatint, 2009. Inscribed “12/20.” $1,200.00

King’s Cadets Brand. California Green Asparagus. Color lithograph. c. 1930’s. A very detailed label with marching cadets. Has beautiful gold trim and is very ornate. ORIGIN: Clarksburg, Sacramento Delta, CA. SHIPPER/GROWER: F.S. and F.E. King. Original fruit crate label. Before the use of mass produced cardboard boxes, fruit growers, packers and shippers printed labels and attached them to the wooden fruit crates or boxes used in shipping.$35.00

Polinac, plate LXVIII. By George Brookshaw. Printed & pub. by the Author, G. Brookshaw. Aquatint and stipple engraving printed in color and finished by hand, 1804-12. From “Pomona Britannica; or a Collection of the most esteemed fruits….” $5,500.00

 

Artichoke. By Jake Muirhead. Etching and drypoint on German Etch paper, 2011. Green ink. Inscribed “A/P.’ $250.00

Check back soon for more great gift ideas- for everyone on your list. To view past gift guides, see below:

• Gifts for the World Traveler
• Gifts for the Nature Lover
• Gifts for the Sports Fan
• Gifts for the Children

All sales can be made in store or over the phone. We also ship prints and maps, flat and insured, using FedEx 3 Day Shipping. Our gallery hours are Tuesday-Saturday, from 10am to 5:20pm. The number at the gallery is (202) 965-1818.

New Additions: White-line Woodcuts

 

We have two new prints in our collection, both white line-woodcuts by Pia Oste-Alexander. White-line woodcuts are one of the only printmaking processes that developed in America. The Provincetown Printers, a small group of Massachusetts printers working in the early 20th century, experimented and honed the process of printing a color woodcut from a single block of wood, as opposed to the multiple blocks used in traditional Japanese woodcuts.

The Provincetown Printers used only a single block, with different areas of color separated by a thin, carved groove to keep the colors from running together. On the finished print, the groove “printed” as a white line separating the colors (hence the alternate name “white-line” woodcut).

These prints are very distinctive and are often confused with watercolors because of the soft colors employed.  Of the original Provincetown 1916 group, some artists such as Blanche Lazzell, Agnes Weinrich and Ada Gilmore produced a large body of work in this medium. Others worked at it for only a short time and produced few prints.

The process itself is very laborious, as each section of color must be applied separately. Registration of the paper to the block is essential; any shifting of the paper can allow the colors to bleed into one another. In many ways, each print, even is printed off the same block, is unique. The wood and paper can absorb varied amounts of inked color each time. Artists will also employ different colors on additional printings, and sometimes cut more grooves on later printings, thus changing the overall composition.

Pia Oste-Alexander is very well-known for her woodcuts. She studied Japanese Wood-Block Printing & White Line Wood-block at the Women’s Studio Workshop, Rosendale, NY. In her artist statements, Oste-Alexander states, “To me it is important to see the mark of the hand in works of art.  I find the combination of carved wood and brush applied watercolor satisfying.”

Basket of Grapes. By Pia Oste-Alexander. White-line woodcut, 2001.

Four fruits. By Pia Oste-Alexander. White-line woodcut, 1999.

 

 

 

Online Summer Shows at the Old Print Shop- Pt. 3

Our NYC sister shop, the Old Print Shop, has three fantastic summer shows going on right now. You can view all three summer shows  online, through their exhibition tab on their website.  Below is a preview of one of their shows, Summer in the Country.

Country Scene. By Peter Hurd. Color lithograph, undated.

Summer in the Country

The country: a place of great escape, where one can leave behind the hustle and bustle of their ordinary lives and enwrap themselves in the beauty that is nature. It is a place of endless entertainment, where natural wonders await discovery and hobbies, new and old, can be enjoyed by people of all ages. From mountain tops to canyon bottom, from horseback riding to sailing and fishing, there are any number of possibilities. One simply needs to find them.

Augustus. By Antonio Tempeste. Engraving, c.1600.

Fence and Shadow. (Newport, RI). By Bo Kass. Silver gelatin print, 2002.

Beach Study. By Richard Carleton. Etching, 2007-8.

Landscape, Cape Cod. By Agnes Weinrich. White-line woodcut, c.1920.

Summer. By Will Barnet. Color lithograph and serigraph. 1986.

The Beach at Dorset. By Ellen Nathan Singer. Etching, 2001.

Red Canyon. By Clare Romano. Collagraph, 1983.

To view Summer in the Country online,  click here. We blogged about The Art of Sporting exhibit last Friday, which can be viewed here, and the exhibit City Heat on Saturday, which can be viewed here.