Harris Schrank Fine Prints

State 14

Henry Somm (1844-1907), Japonisme, drypoint, c. 1881. Four proofs, in states 2 (with pencil additions), 7, 14, and an intermediate state between 7 and 14 with pencil drawing, states 2, 7 and 14 signed and annotated as to their states. Each impression in good condition, with margins, 9 1/2 x 12 1/2 inches.

State 2: A fine impression on wove, with a figure drawn in to the left of the woman, with extensive penciling below the woman’s face and elsewhere in preparation for later states, signed and annotated “2 epreuves”.

State 7: A fine rich impression on cream wove, still with the figure to the left of the woman, but with two figures added in the lower foreground – a woman in a stylish dress and a devilish figure to her left, signed and annotated “7eme etch” and 2 epr”.

Intermediate working proof: A fine rich impression on cream laid paper, with the man at the right fully drawn as in state 7 above, but with the figure to the left of the woman and the two foreground figures burnished out, with extensive penciling in the unprinted areas.

State 14: A fine rich impression on cream wove, with the man on the right now holding a lantern with a detailed picture on it, standing on folders and in front of a house, signed and annotated 14 etat, 2 epreuves.

Henry Somm, whose original name was Francois-Clement Sommier, was a well-known impressionist illustrator and artist, a friend of Buhot, and of course much influenced by Japonisme.

State 2, with extensive pencil additions

State 7, with new figures in the foreground

Working Proof between states 7 and 14, with extensive penciling.

Charles Meryon 1821-1868), La Morgue, etching, fourth state (of 7), printed in brown/black ink, Schneiderman 42 [with the inscription, date, address in the plate]. In very good condition, with margins (several nicks at margin edges, remains of prior hinging verso, tiny loss left margin edge, bottom right corner). 9 x 8 1/8 inches, the sheet 10 13/16 x 9 1/2 inches.

Provenance:

Sir John Day (his blindstamp recto lower left, Lugt 526)

C.W. Dowdeswell, 36 Chancery Lane, London (stamp verso, Lugt 690)

Arthur Hahlo and Company

A fine, richly inked impression, printed on thin laid paper in a dark brown/black ink.

Meryon personally printed the impressions of this state (he printed all the impressions of The Morgue up to state 6 himself). In this impression he has left a delicate layer of plate tone throughout, but has wiped the plate slightly more on the central third of the plate.

The Morgue isone of the Meryon’s greatest achievements, and a landmark in 19th Century printmaking. It was done as part of Meryon’s program of creating etchings of some of the wonderful architectural landmarks of Paris that had remained essentially untouched through the years, but that were likely to be demolished or moved. (The morgue, moved after the etching was made, stood on the Ile de la Cite; it was built in 1568, and was formerly an abbatoir.) The superimposed roofs, the collision of angles, the striking contrasts of shadows all create an aesthetic excitement that was new to the art of its time, and eventually became recognized as an early expression of modernism, presaging cubism, and even precisionism. The composition has a mysterious quality – not only because of its subject matter, but because of the extraordinary mood Meryon achieves through the interplay of lights and shapes.

Detail

Ursula Fookes (1906-1991), Dancers, two linocuts, c. 1930, each signed in pencil, one impression also numbered (9/50). Only state. In very good condition, one impression trimmed to the image (with a fold or crease across the matrix), the other with about a half inch margin (two tiny loses in the lower margin).

Fine fresh impressions of these great rarities.  Each printed on a very thin Japanese mulberry paper. Printed in green, sea green, red, brown, blue.

These prints are mirror images of each other.  We initially thought these were from separate linocut plates, but after much examination realized that since the paper is so thin Ms. Fookes was able to turn one impression over, sign it on the verso side, and achieve a slightly (almost indiscernible) different, muted, effect (in addition to an entirely different direction).

Ursula Fookes was a member of the Grosvenor School,  the early 20th Century British movement associated with Sybil Andrews, Claude Flight, and Cyril Power.   Her linocuts were made in small editions, and only recently, as the work of Andrew et al has become sought after, has it been brought to the light of the marketplace. We have not encountered other impressions of this print.

Because of the unusual method Fookes employed to create these two impressions, they will be sold as a pair.

Hans Sebald Beham (1500-1550), Ornament with Two Genii Riding on Two Chimeras, engraving, 1544 [with initials and date in the plate]. References: Bartsch 236, Hollstein 241, Pauli 241, third state (of 4, but see note below). In very good condition, trimmed on the borderline, slight thinning bottom verso, 1 1/4 x 4 inches.

A superb impression; impressions of this quality are of the greatest rarity in today’s print market.

The state progression of this print is subtle, e.g., the second state is identified as one hatching on the shank of the genius on the left, the third as “with a third diagonal hatching on some parts of the background”, and the fourth as a fourth vertical hatching between the body of the left genius and the back of the chimera. We have had difficulty assessing the state but believe this is an early impression based on it’s extraordinary quality.

Beham was one of the Northern Renaissance Little Masters, so called because of their eminence in producing small-scale engravings such as Ornament with Two Genii Riding on Two Chimeras. Beham was born in Nuremberg in 1500, and may have trained under Durer, though his training is no more certain than that of his younger brother Barthel.  He made his first engraving in 1518, and later became known for producing woodcuts, as well as engravings.

This is one of the tiny prints Beham which no doubt served as the basis for decoration of objects during the Northern Renaissance, objects such as clocks, locks, cups, ceramics, stained glass windows, boxes, cabinets, swords, etc.

Hans Sebald Beham (1500-1550), Hercules and Cerberus, engraving, 1545. Bartsch 100, Pauli 104, Hollstein 67, second state (of 3) [with initials, date and title in the plate]. In very good condition, trimmed on the platemark but outside of the borderline, 2 1/4 x 3 inches.

Provenance: I.H. von Hefner, Alteneck (Lugt 1254, his stamp on verso)

A fine impression.

This shows the last of Hercules’s labors: pulling Cerberus out of the underworld. To do this he got Pluto to bring the monstrous dog into the light of day, but on the condition that Hercules would not use his weapons to drag Cerberus – and so his weapons can be seen on the ground.

The buildings burning in the background are borrowed from a Caraglio print of the same subject; Beham borrowed heavily from Italian sources for his Labors, and in fact his entire series appears to have been based on Caraglio’s series.

Emil Orlik (1870-1932), Am Gänsehäufel in Wien, 1911, soft-ground etching, signed and dated in pencil lower right.  In very good condition, on firm laid paper with margins, 5 1/2 x 8, the sheet 9 3/4 x 12 1/2 inches.

A fine impression of this great rarity; few impressions are known to exist. Printed on a cream colored laid paper in dark brownish/black ink.

In this splendid example of Orlik’s printmaking expertise,  he may have used aquatint to achieve the solid areas of print and selected wiping of the plate to achieve shading; the burr on some of the figures suggests that he used the drypoint needle as well.

I am indebted to Alan Wolman, Orlik expert,  for his pointing out that The Gänsehäufel was a popular swimming resort on the banks of the Danube, still existing today. (A treasury of Orlik information is available on his website www.orlikprints.com)

Hans Sebald Beham (1500-1550), A Mask Held by Two Genii (First State) 1544, engraving, Bartsch 228, Pauli, Hollstein 232, first state (of 2),  [initialed and dated in the plate], in excellent condition, trimmed on the platemark but outside of the borderline,  archival mounting. 1 15/16 x 2 7/8 inches.

A brilliant impression of the rare first state.

In the second state lines were added to the right hand of the geni at the left; in this first state impression these lines have yet to be added (see detail below).

Provenance: Unidentified collector EW (with initials in graphite verso, not located in Lugt).

Beham was one of the Northern Renaissance Little Masters, so called because of their eminence in producing small-scale engravings such as A Mask Held by Two Genii.  Beham was born in Nuremberg in 1500, and may have trained under Durer, though his training is no more certain than that of his younger brother Barthel.  He made his first engraving in 1518, and later became known for producing woodcuts, as well as engravings.

A Mask Held by two Genii is one of the better known small prints made by Beham which has (apparently) served as the basis for decoration of objects during the Northern Renaissance, objects such as clocks, locks, cups, ceramics, stained glass windows, boxes, cabinets, swords, etc.

Detail

Henri Matisse (1869-1954), Jeune Femme Enserrant son Genou Gauche (Young Woman Holding her Left Knee), drypoint, 1929, signed in pencil lower right margin and numbered (24/25). Reference: Duthuit 144, only state. From the edition of 25 (there was also one artist’s proof). In good condition (unobtrusive creasing upper right),  printed on chine applique on a strong Arches wove paper, the full sheet, 4 7/8 x 6 1/8, the sheet 11 x 12 3/8 inches.

A fine impression.

In his small etchings and drypoints Matisse displayed a mastery of draftsmanship unmatched in modernist printmaking. Jeune Femme Enserrant is a splendid example of Matisse’s genius.

Hans Sebald Beham (1500-1550), A Mask Held by Two Genii, 1544, engraving, Bartsch 228, Pauli, Hollstein 232, second state of two,[initialed and dated in the plate], in very good condition, trimmed on or possibly just into the platemark but outside of the borderline (on the borderline at left), some ink drawing verso not visible recto, archival mounting. 1 15/16 x 2 7/8 inches.

A fine black evenly printed and clear impression. In this second state lines have been added to the right hand of the genius at the left.

Provenance: Dr. Karl Herweg, with his stamp verso (Lugt 3974).

Beham was one of the Northern Renaissance Little Masters, so called because of their eminence in producing small-scale engravings such as A Mask Held by Two Genii.  Beham was born in Nuremberg in 1500, and may have trained under Durer, though his training is no more certain than that of his younger brother Barthel.  He made his first engraving in 1518, and later became known for producing woodcuts, as well as engravings.

A Mask Held by two Genii is one of the better known small prints made by Beham which has (apparently) served as the basis for decoration of objects during the Northern Renaissance, objects such as clocks, locks, cups, ceramics, stained glass windows, boxes, cabinets, swords, etc.

Hans Sebald Beham (1500-1550), an engraving after Beham’s Two Fools (or Fool and Foolish Woman), engraving, c 1540, a copy or impression in reverse of Pauli 215, Bartsch 213, the copy after the first state. In excellent condition, trimmed on or just outside or inside the plate mark, on old laid paper, numerous notes in pencil verso, 1 15/16 x 2 1/16 inches.

A brilliant impression of this famous image, after the Beham composition.

The subject matter for this print was addressed by numerous artists in the 15th and 16th centuries.  In this rendering the allusions refer to the folly of love. For example, the man holds what was known as the “fool’s stick”, an instrument with obvious phallic references. The woman rests her hand on a vessel, a reference to female sexuality.  The man holds a flagon of wine – wine drinking was at the time a metaphor for love-making.  Many prints of the time show flies or dragonflies flying around a lover’s head in association with love; here three dragon flies circle the man, but another is aiming toward the woman.

Detail

Reginald Marsh (1898-1954), Steeplechase, etching and engraving, 1932, signed in pencil lower right and numbered (13) lower left. Reference: Sasowsky 138, 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.

Charles Meryon (1821-1868), Le Pont au Change, 1854, etching. Reference: Schneiderman 40, fifth state (of 12). On old laid paper with a Crowned Shield watermark. In very good condition, with full margins, 6 1/8 x 13 1/8, the sheet 11 1/2 x 17 1/4 inches.

A brilliant, rich impression, printed in dark brown ink.

Provenance: Dr. William Pelletier, with his stamp on verso.

From a point of view at water level we can see the Pompe de Notre Dame (the old water pump) beyond the bridge, and the Palais de Justice and Tour de Horloge on the Isle de la Cite at the right. In the water a man, presumably drowning, reaches toward a boat, but those in the boat are turned in the other direction, looking toward the balloon marked Speranza (hope) in the sky. On the bridge a hearse and a parade of mourners walk toward the left, as a group of soldiers at the far left marches toward them.

Meryon made a few changes in the figures and clouds in the next state (the 6th), and removed the balloon in the seventh state; then, in 1859-60 he famously added a flock of huge birds to the sky – this was variously interpreted as the result of the influence of Poe (The Raven), as evidence of Meryon’s mental instability after his stay at the institution Clarenton; and of course there were other possibilities. Indeed, the meanings of the print in its earlier states – the ironies of the conjunction of the balloon Speranza, the drowning man and those turning away from him, and the funereal procession, for example – has been the subject of much speculation as well.

It is however indisputable that in this early state, Le Pont au Change is one of the most dramatic and beautiful of Meryon’s compositions.

Jean-Emile Laboureur (1877-1943), Chez la Corsetiere, soft ground etching and drypoint, a color etching made with two plates, 1934, signed in pencil lower left, also titled and inscribed “epreuve d’essai (en couleur)” and “tire a 5 epreuves” lower margin by the artist. Reference: Sylvain Laboureur 494, first state (of 2). In excellent condition, printed on a cream wove paper with the watermark initials AMV. The full sheet with margins, 8 1/4 x 6, the sheet 11 x 8 3/4 inches, archival matting.

A fine impression of the rare first state, before additional definitional lines to the mirror and other areas were added. Printed in black and sanguine. Only 5 trial proofs of the first state were made, and only 22 impressions printed overall (although a larger edition may have been intended).

In this trial state this print has an experimental impressionistic quality which is quite affecting and effective; in the second state the composition was more straightforward and perhaps a bit less seductive.

$1250

Arthur B. Davies (1862-1928), Sea Maidens (or, Sunshine; Girls on the Beach), soft ground etching and aquatint, 1919, signed in pencil lower right. Reference: Czestochoski 79, second state (of 3). Total edition unknown but small. In generally good condition apart from a tear (repaired, now unobtrusive, see detail one below) upper center c 1″ into image, soiling verso and in margins, nicks at paper edges.  Printed in black on a green laid paper.  With margins, 8 x 11 7/8, the sheet 9 5/8 x 14 1/2 inches.

A fine impression, with the several aquatint layers contrasting effectively against the greenish paper (see detail number 2 below).

Czestochoski describes the first state as a cut down plate focusing on the group of girls, with some aquatint on the girls, and the second state as the larger plate. This is curious because ordinarily the first state would be the larger plate; the cutting down of the plate would be later (and then this impression would be a first state).

This modernist/symbolist composition is one of Davies’s most popular; he rendered it in a drawing and oil as well.

Detail #1

Detail #2

Emil Orlik (1870-1932), Old Arab Man, etching with platetone, c. 1912-16, signed in pencil and annotated (or dated) 16. In very good condition, printed on cream laid paper, 3 3/4 x 2 1/8, the sheet 5 3/4 x 3 7/8 inches.

A fine clear impression.

The invaluable Emil Orlik website (www.orlik.com) dates this print to about 1912; they note that “In 1912 he made his next important journey abroad, visiting North Africa, Ceylon, China, Korea and Japan, returning via Siberia.”

Orlik demonstrates his familiarity with the old masters, especially Rembrandt, in this tiny print – he had carefully studied and copied the old masters as a student, working at the Munich Pinakothech in the early 1890’s.

Charles Emile Jacque (1813-1894), Petits, Petits, etching on chine colle, c. 1864 [signed in the plate upper left, also with the name of the artist and the printer (Sarazin)]. Reference: Guiffrey 187, third state (of 3). In good condition, the full sheet, 5 x 6 7/8, the sheet 12 x 16 3/4 inches, archival matting.

Provenance:

Alfred Beurdeley (his stamp recto lower right, Lugt 421).

A fine clear impression.

Although Jacque’s training as an artist was spotty, he did learn printmaking early in his career, and developed a strong reputation in the graphic arts.  In 1845 Baudelaire wrote of this young printmaker, who had submitted a copy of a Rembrandt self-portrait to the Salon:  M. Jacque is a name which will continue, let us hope, to grow greater.  M. Jacque’s etching is very bold and he has grasped his subject admirably.  There is a directness and a freedom about everything that M. Jacque does upon his copper which reminds one of the old masters.  He is known besides to have executed some remarkable reproductions of Rembrandt’s etchings.

When a cholera epidemic hit Paris in 1849 Jacque and his family, along with his friend Millet,  decided to move to Fountainebleau, where they were to become associated with the famed Barbizon School.

Detail

Henri Rivière (French, 1864-1951), Loguivy le Soir (Loguivy at Evening), 1904,Plate 7 for Le Beau Pays de Bretagne. Published by Eugène Verneau, Paris. Color lithograph. Signed in blue crayon lower right and numbered 37 [also signed in the stone]. The full sheet with full margins, 9 x 14, the sheet 19 x 23 5/8 inches. In good condition, some soft folds well outside of the image.

Provenance:  ex Collection Ernest Shapiro

A fine atmospheric impression, with the intentionally subdued colors effectively contrasting.

Rivière was one of the most creative artists of his time – he created a form of shadow theatre at the Chat Noir in Paris in the late 1880’s; later he helped originate color printmaking in woodcuts and lithographs; he was a photographer and etcher as well. Much of his work was influenced by the Japanese woodcut tradition, and that’s evident in Loguivy le Soir, which, although it is lithography, has the look of a complex woodcut.

Rivière first visited Brittany in 1884, spending most of his summers there until 1916. Together with bustling Parisian life, rural Brittany was the subject for most of his landscape works.

Alphonse Legros (1837-1911), Un Charron (The Wheelwright), etching, c. 1890, signed in pencil lower right. Reference: Bliss 267. In good condition, printed on a cream laid paper with a flower (?) watermark, with margins, 6 x 8, the sheet 6 5/8 x 8 5/8 inches.

Provenance:

Frank E. Bliss (with his stamp verso, Lugt 265. Bliss was the author of a catalogue raisonne of the Legros prints).

Collection of the Artist.  The following is written on the mat: “Ex library Deigton 16/12/09. The proof bought from Deighton was subsequently exchanged Legros for the proof in the artist’s Private Collection.”

A fine lightly printed impression, printed with a layer of plate tone.

It is also noted on the mat “Rare only 10 proofs.”

The wheelwright is apparently shaping wheels or related implements from the wood being brought to him by the woman to his left.

Detail

Detail

Alphonse Legros (1837-1921), A Wayfairer, etching and drypoint, c. 1890, signed in pencil lower right [also signed in the plate lower right]. Reference: Bliss 265. In good condition, with margins (some dealer stock numbers in margins, slight soiling), printed on a cream laid paper, 5 1/2 x 10 5/8, the sheet 9 x 12 7/8 inches, archival mounting.

Provenance:

Frank E. Bliss (stamp [variation] lower right recto, Lugt 265. Bliss was the author of the a catalogue raisonne for the artist)

C.J. Knowles (1840-1900), London, oval stamp with initials CJK (Lugt 576). Knowles was an active art collector, a close friend of Legros, as well as other artists such as Strang and Rodin.

A fine impression.

The British Museum entitles their impression Un Vagabond Passant dans une Ruelle.

Detail

Barbara Latham (1896-1988), Bear Family, 1937, wood engraving, unsigned [signed and dated in the block]. Published by American Artists Group. In excellent condition, on an ivory wove paper, the full sheet with full margins, 10 x 8, the sheet 13 x 18 inches. Window matting, with archival board, unattached mylar hinging.

A fine impression of this charming image.

The American Artists Group was formed in 1934, during the Great Depression, with the express purpose of providing unsigned inexpensive prints which were to be widely distributed. AAG published prints by Ganso, Spruance, Meissner, Ruzicka and Lankes, among many other noted artists. Although the prices of these prints was minimal, sales were sluggish in that economy and editions were not sold out; most printings were under 200 and many under 100. Today, these prints are prized and highly valued by discerning print collectors.

Barbara Latham studied art in New England and New York, and started her career as a commercial artist. She later moved to Taos, New Mexico, married artist Howard Cook, and became famous in her own right for her paintings and prints depicting people and animals of the Southwest.

Honore Daumier (1808-1879), The Fireworks (Le Feu D’Artifice), lithograph, 1840. Reference: Daumier Register 656, second state (of three). Published initially in this state in Actualities as number 14 in this series; then later in state 3 in La Charivari. A sur blanc impression, in very good condition,  printed on a cream wove paper, 11 5/8 x 8, the sheet 13 3/4 x 10 inches, archival mounting.

A fine fresh impression of this night scene, with dark charcoal blacks contrasting with the light of the woman lower left and the father.

This sur blanc impression has no lettering verso; it is from the rare collector’s limited edition, made at the time of the publication of the lithograph in newsprint for collectors who wanted the Daumier lithographic composition on a heavier paper than the newsprint, and without the interference of the newsprint in the image.

Taken unabashedly from the invaluable Daumier Register, here’s a translation:

Original Text:
LE FEU D’ARTIFICE.
Un Père est un traiteau donné par la nature.

Translation:
AT THE FIREWORKS DISPLAY.
A father is a draft horse, provided by nature.

$250

Detail

Richard Earlom (1743-1822), etching and roulette, mezzotint, 1776, after a drawing by Claude Lorrain (Claude Gelee), number 135 from the Original Collection of the Duke of Devonshire, 1776, published by John Boydell. [With the lettering in the plate Claude le Lorrain delin at left, the Boydell address center, R. Earlom fecit right, and below the lettering From the Original Drawing in the Collection of the Duke of Devonshire, No. 135]. In generally good condition, with margins (a stain upper right edge well away from image), printed in sepia on a laid paper with a watermark 1809, 8 1/4 x 10 1/4, the sheet 10 1/2 x 16 1/2 inches, matted.

A very good impression.

Richard Earlom was a master printmaker, specializing in the mezzotint. In 1774 the Duke of Devonshire lent his collection of Claude drawings to the publisher Boydell for the purpose of having them engraved, and Boydell commissioned Earlom to do this job. It took about three years, and resulted in several volumes entitled Liber Veritas – the same as the title for the collection.

To create the look of the original drawings Earlom started with etching, then used the roulette tool which he was familiar with in his mezzotint work to create the wash tones.  It appears that in certain areas Earlom would scrape the roulette work, using a conventional mezzotint technique, to create areas of solid wash with varying intensities of darkness and light. The plates were then printed in a sepia ink, similar to the bistre of the drawings.

The impressions were printed in a number of editions; the watermark 1809 suggests a printing of that date. Earlom died in 1822.

Detail

Harriet Lanfair (1900-1988) lithograph, c. 1935, signed in pencil on lower right margin. Printed on a very light japan paper, with margins. A proof impression, with  printers ink and creasing in irregularly trimmed margins (as characteristic of a working proof, these margin defects not affecting image), slight foxing also mostly in margins. Archival matting, 8 1/4 x 13 inches, the sheet 12 x 15 inches.

A fine impression of this rarity – this is a working proof impression, and we know of no edition or other impressions of this fascinating composition that have appeared on the market.

Lanfair, a California painter and printmaker (born in Pasadena, studied art in California and lived in the LA area), specialized in lithography; she exhibited actively with the LA Print Group during the 1930’s.

Richard Earlom (1743-1822), etching and roulette, mezzotint, 1776, after a drawing by Claude Lorrain (Claude Gelee), number 162 from the Original Collection of the Duke of Devonshire, 1776, published by John Boydell. [With the lettering in the plate Claude le Lorrain delin at left, the Boydell address center, R. Earlom fecit right, and below the lettering From the Original Drawing in the Collection of the Duke of Devonshire, No. 162]. In generally good condition, with margins (a stain upper right edge well away from image), printed in sepia on a laid paper with a watermark 1809, 8 1/4 x 10 1/4, the sheet 10 1/2 x 16 1/2 inches, matted.

A very good impression.

Richard Earlom was a master printmaker, specializing in the mezzotint. In 1774 the Duke of Devonshire lent his collection of Claude drawings to the publisher Boydell for the purpose of having them engraved, and Boydell commissioned Earlom to do this job. It took about three years, and resulted in several volumes entitled Liber Veritas – the same as the title for the collection.

To create the look of the original drawings Earlom started with etching, then used the roulette tool which he was familiar with in his mezzotint work to create the wash tones.  It appears that in certain areas Earlom would scrape the roulette work, using a conventional mezzotint technique, to create areas of solid wash with varying intensities of darkness and light. The plates were then printed in a sepia ink, similar to the bistre of the drawings.

The impressions were printed in a number of editions; the watermark 1809 suggests a printing of that date. Earlom died in 1822.

Detail

Jerome Myers drypoint, Springtime: Immigrant Mother and Children, circa 1907, signed in pencil lower right, in good condition (soft printer’s creases lower left margin corner), on a soft cream wove paper with a shell/leaf watermark, wide margins, 7 7/8 x 5 7/8 (the sheet 17 1/4 x 11 1/2) inches, archival mounting.

A fine clear impression, with a veil of plate tone, with substantial drypoint burr.

Myers (1876-1940) was an actor and artist, a specialist in the American turn of the century immigrant experience, particularly those immigrants in the Lower East Side of Manhattan; this is a prototypical example of his work.  Active in the art life of the times, he was a prime mover behind the Armory Show of 1913, working with Walt Kuhn to get the (then) highly esteemed Arthur B. Davies to help run the show.  Myer’s paintings are an important part of America’s aesthetic and historical heritage; they can be found, for example, in the National Gallery in Washington alongside those of Bellows and the members of the Ashcan school.  Although his paintings show that he was a talented colorist, his etchings prove that he was (unlike several of his colleagues) also a master draughtsman, able to capture the spirit and atmosphere of the times with an impressionistic approach to printmaking.