Reginald Marsh (1898-1954), Erie R.R. Yards, etching, 1929, signed in pencil lower right and numbered lower left. Reference: Sasowsky 87, fifth state (of 6). In very good condition, printed on a cream laid paper, with margins, 9 x 12, the sheet 10 1/2 x 13 1/4 inches.

A brilliant black impression of this great rarity.

Two impressions were printed in this state.

On the size of Marsh’s lifetime editions, his famous quote explains the situation: “Since I do practically all my own printing, I do not limit the edition. The buyer limits the edition – he rarely buys, I rarely print.”  Marsh also occasionally numbered his prints with large edition sizes, often suggesting an edition of 50, as in this impression (numbered 8/50).  But it appears from the writing on the number that this was an afterthought, and that the number 8 corresponds to the original numbering. Sasowsky notes that Marsh printed impressions 10 through 17 of the final state, 8 and 9 of the penultimate state (this impression would be the 8), and numbers 1 through 7 in earlier states. Some of these had the number /50 added. Whatever the number printed, this print is quite rare; in fact we know of no other impressions to appear on the print market in the past 25 years.

A Marsh lithograph with the same title (Sasowsky 18) but a completely different composition was published 1928.  The composition of the etching is similar to that of Eries R.R. Locos Watering (S. 155) and to a painting Locomotive Watering in the collection of Mrs. Reginald Marsh; there is also a related drawing in the Fogg Art Museum.

Detail

Reginald Marsh (1898-1954), Skyline from Pier 10, Brooklyn, etching, 1931, signed in pencil [also signed in the plate]. Reference: Sasowsky 129. First state (of 4). In very good condition with margins (a couple of ink marks in margins, a stain upper right margin tip). Archival mounting (acid free board, window mat, not attached hinging). 6 1/2 x 11 7/8, the sheet 7 1/2 x 13 1/16 inches.

A fine impression of this rare first state proof, printed in black on laid paper.

This is one of the two first state proofs, proof A (proof B was extensively touched). The composition is complete in this proof except for the clouds and sky, which were added in the second state, and some small additions to the battleships, buildings and sky added in later states. Aside from the addition of the sky and clouds, the most apparent change in later states was the addition of windows to the tall flat building at the right.

Only one impression was made of the second state, two of the third, and a small number of the fourth state (14 or so).

Reginald Marsh (1896-1954), Pennsylvania Rail Road Loco Waiting to be Junked, 1932, etching, signed in pencil lower right and numbered “12″ lower left.  Reference: Sasowsky 130, fifth state (of 5). In very good condition, with margins (slightest trace of light stain), 6 x 11 3/4, the sheet 7 1/4 x 13 3/4 inches.

Provenance: Kennedy Galleries (with their stock number on margins.

A fine impression, printed in black on cream wove BFK Rives paper (with a partial watermark).

This impression was printed by Marsh personally (and has margins trimmed a bit irregularly, as is typically of Marsh’s self-printed prints). His notes are of interest, e.g., he notes that he “Drew design from nature in two afternoons” and that the design was complete in the first state “except for tracks and sky.” He made only small changes thereafter, e.g., in state 3 added “cinders in track and sky drawn.”  Only about 19 impressions were made of the 5th state, and only 1, 2 or 3 impressions of the prior states.

Detail

]]> http://harrisschrank.com/pennsylvania-rail-road-loco-waiting-to-be-junked.htm/feed 0 http://harrisschrank.com/steeplechase.htm http://harrisschrank.com/steeplechase.htm#comments Sat, 12 Sep 2009 16:51:03 +0000 Harris Schrank http://harrisschrank.com/?p=2672 Reginald Marsh (1898-1954), Steeplechase, etching and engraving, 1932, signed in pencil lower right and numbered (13) lower left. Reference: Sasowsky, Tenth state (of 10). Edition of about 25. Very good condition, a touch of light tone, printed on a cream wove paper, with margins, 7 7/8 x 10 7/8, the sheet 9 1/16 x 12 inches, window matting. A superb black impression. This is one of Marsh’s iconic Coney Island images, a couple – a girl and a sailor – at the center of the composition, and two girls at either end. The sense of movement is palpable. Posthumous [...]]]>

Reginald Marsh (1898-1954), Steeplechase, etching and engraving, 1932, signed in pencil lower right and numbered (13) lower left. Reference: Sasowsky, Tenth state (of 10). Edition of about 25. Very good condition, a touch of light tone, printed on a cream wove paper, with margins, 7 7/8 x 10 7/8, the sheet 9 1/16 x 12 inches, window matting.

A superb black impression.

This is one of Marsh’s iconic Coney Island images, a couple – a girl and a sailor – at the center of the composition, and two girls at either end. The sense of movement is palpable.

Posthumous impressions were made for the Whitney benefit edition, but of course these are merely a ghostly reminder of the richness and sweep of the lifetime impressions, which in this case was printed by Marsh personally (he printed impressions 6 through 19).

A painting was made of this subject, called George Tilyou’s Steeplechase, which is now at the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

Steeplechase Park was one of the most famous amusement parks in the industry’s history. The park opened in 1897 and its feature attraction was the Steeplechase Ride, a horse race which wound around the Pavilion of Fun. The park closed in 1964.

Reginald Marsh (1898-1954), Irving Place Burlesque (#2), etching, 1928, signed in pencil lower right by Felicia Meyer Marsh, numbered (21) lower left margin, also with the initials RW lower left. Reference: Sasowsky 49, a proof impression of the 7th state (of 8). In good condition with margins, with characteristics of a Marsh proof, i.e., some inky fingerprints in margins, trimmed irregularly especially at left margin edge, printer’s creases. On an ivory laid paper, 7 x 10 3/4, the sheet 9 3/4 x 13 1/4 inches.

A very good impression, before engraving and additional work darkening composition.

Apparently Marsh experimented with burnishing and scraping this plate, particularly the group of dancers at the left. In this impression they are rather lightly drawn, and in the final state they appear to be darker. The only lines he added for the final state (that we can find) are cross-hatching lines on the column at the far right (partly hidden by a man); this is definitive evidence that this is an earlier state, but in other respects the lines and composition are the same as in the last state.

The numbering 21 on this impression is a confusing element; according to Sasowsky an impression in the final state was numbered 21 (and the two known impressions in the seventh state were numbered 13 and 14), but of course Marsh (and to a lesser degree Sasowsky) were not infallible in their numbering and records. The highest number Sasowsky cites for the print is 25.

Irving Place Burlesque #2 is a close-up depiction of the stage, the piano player, and some of the audience; aother print entitled Irving Place Burlesque (S 75) done about the same time shows only a tiny portion of the stage and focuses more on the house and the audience.

Reginald Marsh (1898-1954), Switch Engines, Erie Yards, Jersey City, Stone No. 3, lithograph, 1948, signed in pencil lower right. Reference: Sasowsky 30, only state, from the edition of 253 as published by the Print Club of Cleveland. In very good condition, slight spotting verso, 9 x 13, the sheet 13 x 16 3/4 inches.

A fine fresh impression, in its original mat with the inscription on the mat of the Print Club of Cleveland, with its stamp verso, printed on a cream wove paper, the full sheet with deckle edges.

Marsh made two earlier versions of this lithograph, which he apparently decided were not adequate, before developing this version for the edition. The earlier versions were more detailed and realistic; this is more impressionist, and perhaps captures the feel of the rail yards better than the more straightforward versions.

Railroad imagery was an important recurring theme for Marsh, both in his etching and lithographic work.  Sasowsky wrote that the locomotives “are phallic in form and appear in Marsh’s work almost as a leitmotif throughout his career. They are rendered with great knowledge, affection, and dignity.”

Reginald Marsh (1898-1954), St. Jean de Luz, lithograph, c. 1928, signed in pencil lower right and inscribed “40 proofs” lower left [also signed in the plate lower left], printed on a chine colle. In good condition, the full sheet with full margins (slight soiling, nicks, handling folds in margins, remains of prior hinging verso). 8 1/4 x 12 5/8, the sheet 12 3/4 x 19 1/4 inches, archival matting.

A good strong impression.

Provenance: Estate of Ernest Shapiro

In this marvelous display of draftsmanship, Marsh draws a fierce storm, with a fiery sky and a group of people trying to get onto a pier just as an enormous wave breaks over it.

Marsh made a group of lithographs during a trip to France in 1928; most were scenes of Paris street and cafe life. Aesthetically St. Jean de Luz is surely the most accomplished of this group (and is also a rather unusual subject for Marsh).

Saint-Jean-de-Luz is a fishing port on the Basque coast, just south of Biarritz.  The port lies on the estuary just before the river joins the ocean.

Reginald Marsh (1898-1954), Loco-Erie Watering, 1929, etching, signed in pencil lower right, and numbered (16) lower left. Reference: Sasowsky 85, fourth state (of 4). On Whatman paper. In very good condition (apart from two hinging stains verso showing through top margin just into plate mark, some printers ink and soiling in margins), with margins, 7 x 9 7/8, the sheet 8 1/4 x 11 7/8 inches. Archival matting (acid free hinging and board, window mat, glassine cover).

A fine clear black impression.

Provenance: Kennedy Galleries, New York, and with their label and annotations still on mat.

Marsh (obviously) printed this personally, and this paper is specified in Sasowsky for his numbered impressions 8-18 of the definitive fourth state. He probably did not print more than about 20 impressions.

In Thomas Craven’s Treasury of American Prints (1939), Marsh is quoted as saying in response to a question about the size of his editions: “Since I do practically all my own printing, I do not limit the edition. The buyer limits the edition – he rarely buys, I rarely print. I usually print fifteen or twenty and sell one or two in the next five years – so why limit the edition?” (That was in 1939; today of course Marsh’s etchings are treasured as icons of American printmaking in the ’20’s and 30’s.)

Reginald Marsh (1898-1954), Fan Dance at Jimmy Kelly’s, etching, 1936, signed and inscribed 50 proofs (only 24 known printed) [also with the initials and date in the plate lower left]. Reference: Sasowsky 161, third state (of 3). In very good condition, with wide margins, on Rives cream wove paper (with the Rives watermark). 6 x5, the sheet 9 1/2 x 7 inches. Archival mounting.

A fine, delicately printed impression.

Fandance was printed in three states; the design was essentially complete in the first state and small changes were made for the second and third states. Two proofs were made of each of the first and second states; Sasowsky indicates that although Marsh noted that an edition of 50 impressions was scheduled, only 20 impressions of the third state were printed.

The Marsh notation “50 impressions” represented wishful thinking as to the size of the edition on his part. In Thomas Craven’s Treasury of American Prints (1939), Marsh is quoted as saying in response to a question about the size of his editions: “Since I do practically all my own printing, I do not limit the edition. The buyer limits the edition – he rarely buys, I rarely print. I usually print fifteen or twenty and sell one or two in the next five years – so why limit the edition?” (That was in 1939; today of course Marsh’s etchings are treasured as icons of American printmaking in the ’20’s and 30’s.)

Reginald Marsh (1898-1954), Erie Rail Road Locos Watering, etching and engraving, 1934, signed and number (# 2). Reference: Sasowsky 155, eighth state (of 8). From small group of impressions in this state (highest number located is #18, but possibly numbering was not in order; earlier states only 1 or 2 proofs.  On BFK Rives cream wove paper, with their (partial) watermark. In very good condition, with margins, 8 7/8 x 11 3/4, the sheet 10 3/4 x 14 3/4 inches.

A brilliant black impression.

Marsh has captured the grime, dirt, black colors of the trains and smoke, partly through his artistry, and partly through the difficulty he had creating and printing this plate. After making two proofs the etching ground collapsed, and he had to burnish and scrape a film of foul biting; the plate still shows spots, akin to the phospherous grains which etchers from the time of Rembrandt used to create tiny dots of black on their impressions. Marsh then repeatedly re-engraved the plate, and this accounts for the astonishing blacks, and the burr (in the smoke at right center, for example).  The final product was well worth the effort – it is arguably Marsh’s finest railroad engraving.

The number of prints that Marsh printed is not known precisely, but this print is quite rare, and many of the impressions are accounted for (e.g., #7 is at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, #8 at the Whitney, #12 is at the New York Public Library, etc.).  This impression is #2.

On the size of Marsh’s lifetime editions, his famous quote explains the situation: “Since I do practically all my own printing, I do not limit the edition. The buyer limits the edition – he rarely buys, I rarely print.” Written on pencil at the bottom margin of this print, quite probably in Marsh’s hand, are the words: “Erie Locomotives Watering – $20.”