Harris Schrank Fine Prints

ARMIN LANDECK (1905-1984)
Pop’s Tavern.

Drypoint and aquatint, 1934. 155×257 mm; 6 1/8×10 inches, full margins. Reference: Kraeft 45. Edition of 50 (from an intended edition of 100). Signed, dated and inscribed “Ed. 100” in pencil, lower margins. In excellent condition, with full margins, printed on a cream wove paper.

A superb, dark, richly-inked impression; one of Landeck’s most sought after prints.

This is a view of Christopher Street in New York, across from the Hudson Movie Theatre. Landeck’s friend and fellow artist Martin Lewis used the same location for his drypoint Bedford Street Gang, 1935.

RAOUL DUFY (1877-1953)
L’Amour, woodcut, 1910, signed and numbered 78/100 in pencil, lower right, from the first edition of 100, in good condition, full margins, 210×255 mm; 8 1/2×10 1/4 inches, from the set Les Plaisirs de la Paix published by Editions de la Sirene, Paris, 1910.

A superb, early impression.

Dufy was a primary mover in the adaptation of the woodcut technique to modern art. Dufy had an early exposure to Cubism (in 1908, working with Braque at L’Estaque, near Marseilles).L’Amour is one of a set of woodcuts Dufy made on his return in 1910 from a visit to Munich; observers have noted that it shows evidence of his being inspired by the German Expressionists. But largely because of its date and Dufy’s involvement with the Fauvists, L’Amour can be seen as an important example of Fauvist woodcutting. The set of woodcuts was exhibited at the Salon d’Automne of 1910.

William Kentridge (b. 1955), Flatiron Building, (also known as I Am Still Learning), drypoint, 1985, on Rives paper with their watermark, signed, dated and dedicated For Hermine from William ’86; inscribed AP lower left, in excellent condition, with full margins, 7 3/4 x 5 1/4, the sheet 13 1/4 x 9 1/2 inches.

Provenance: Gift of the artist
Estate of Hermine Chivian-Cobb, New York

Hermine Chivian-Cobb was a brilliant and highly regarded professional both as an art historian and a fine arts appraiser. Educated at Smith College, the Ecole du Louvre, and the Institute of Fine Arts of New York University, her broad knowledge of European art ranged from the 17th to the 20th century, including Russian painting and theater design. Her distinguished career included work at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Sotheby’s, and Wildenstein Gallery.

This composition shows the artist in New York, his back turned to the viewer with his portfolio under his arm. He is seen walking away from the viewer precariously close to an open manhole. A warthog standing on the roof of a car in the foreground adds to the sense of alienation and displacement, felt by the artist struggling to find his place in an unfamiliar and congested environment. Of course in recent years Kentridge’s work has been heralded in New York – and beyond.

Flatiron Building is rare, only a few proofs are known, each inscribed AP (artist’s proof); we know of no edition.