Reginald Marsh - Two Models on a Bed

Reginald Marsh (1898-1954), Two Models on a Bed, lithograph, 1928, signed and inscribed “15 proofs” [also initialed and dated in the plate]. Reference: Sasowsky 9, only state, from the edition of 15. In excellent condition, printed on chine applique on a stiff cream wove paper, 9 x 10 1/2, the sheet 12 5/8 x 17 3/4 inches.

A fine impression.

This is a relatively rare print, from a small edition (15); since several impressions are in public institutions (such as the Boston Public Library, Yale University Art Gallery, New York Public Library) the print is rarely obtainable on the market.

Although Marsh printed many of his etchings and other prints such as linoleum blocks himself, it is not known who printed his lithographs. This lithograph was surely made and printed in Paris, and was among the group of lithographs Marsh brought back with him after his Paris trip in 1928.

Reginald Marsh (1898-1954), Box at the Metropolitan, etching and engraving, 1934, signed in pencil lower right, and numbered 22 (erased, lower left).  Reference: Sasowsky 143, fifth state (of 5). In very good condition (a few minor stains verso, slight skinning where prior hinging verso), with margins, 10 x 8, the sheet 11 ¾ x 8 7/8 inches.

A fine impression, printed on a heavy cream wove paper.

In 1936 Marsh made another Opera Box engraving (S. 162, known as Opera Box), a smaller print but with the same format, and also showing six people. The inhabitants of the box have changed, however, except for the woman center bottom and man center top (one can understand his favoring these two as models).  Both Opera Boxes were made at the height of the Great Depression; one suspects, judging from the expressions of the participants that Marsh was making a bit of a statement about the wealthy types who would be able to dress up formally and attend the opera during the period.

Reginald Marsh (1898-1954), Skyline from Pier 10 Brooklyn, 1931, etching,  Sasowsky 129, fourth state (of 4). There were 18 impressions of the final state printed by Marsh; 11 postumous (1956); 100 Whitney, 1971. In excellent condition; with the usual fingerprints and stray spots of ink in the margins and paper trimmed a bit unevenly as characterizes the impressions printed personally by Marsh. Signed and annotated # 7 in pencil. Signed and dated in the plate, lower right.

Image size 6 3/8 x 11 7/8 inches (162 x 222 mm); sheet size 8 1/8 x 13 5/8 inches (206 x 346 mm).

A superb, richly inked impression, on cream laid paper, with full margins (5/8 to 1 1/8 inches).

One of only 18 lifetime impressions. In the artist’s original mat; an exhibition label on the mat back: XXII ND BIENNIAL INTERNATIONAL ART EXHIBITION – VENICE 1940. The label rubber-stamped and dated 10 MAG 40 XVIII (10 May 40). According to the label this impression was apparently sold or offered for sale at this exhibition by the Society of American Etchers; the price at the time was $40.

Label on original mat for Venice Biennial sale, 1940

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 (18 or so).

Reginald Marsh (1898-1954), Merry-Go-Round, etching and engraving, 1938, signed in pencil lower right and inscribed Forty Proofs lower left,  [also signed in the plate lower left and inscribed SC]. Reference: Sasowsky 179, fourth state (of 4). In good condition, with margins (a paper loss upper right corner well outside of the platemark, stains from prior hinging, notations in pencil lower margin edge). 10 x 8, the sheet 11 1/2 x 9 1/8 inches.

A very good impression, printed in black on a wove paper with a partial FRANCE watermark.

Sasowsky notes that Marsh printed 15 impressions of this state (and only one or two of the prior states), and considered only 10 of the 15 valuable.  His notation “Forty Proofs” is therefore surely an expression of a hoped-for edition size, as opposed to an actual edition size. We have found this quite often the case with Marsh prints – he indicates an edition size but the actual number of impressions printed is considerably smaller.

There is an eerie, almost ominous note in this, as in several of Marsh’s merry-go-round prints. The man in dark glasses just to the right behind the girl hardly seems the type to be riding merry-go-rounds for recreation, and the woman at the left doesn’t either. The girl rides side-saddle, the better to avoid these characters just behind her. Even the girl’s horse has an expression of wariness in its eye.

There is a painting with a similar composition, but differing in many details, in the Museum of Fine Arts, Springfield, Mass.

Detail

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/irving-place-burlesque-2-proof-impression.htm http://harrisschrank.com/irving-place-burlesque-2-proof-impression.htm#comments Mon, 29 Jun 2009 22:07:16 +0000 Harris Schrank http://harrisschrank.com/?p=1598 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 [...]]]>

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.)