Figure in Glass – Posthumous Impression signed by Nankivell (Printer)
Arthur B. Davies (1862-1928), Figure in Glass, drypoint on zinc, 1916-7, printed in 1929 by the printer and artist Frank Nankivell, signed by the printer lower left with the annotation “printer”. Reference: Czestochowski 38, only state. In very good condition, on a blue green laid paper, 6 1/8 x 5 1/2, the sheet 9 1/4 x 7 1/2 inches, archival mounting.
A fine impression of this American cubist rarity.
This is from the group (small, but of unknown size) of posthumous impressions printed by Frank Nankivell in 1929, the year after Davies died. Czestochoski notes that the total number of impressions printed was small but not known. Although the Nankivell posthumous impressions lack the richness of the lifetime impressions – they are more spare – they still have substantial appeal, especially to lovers of American modernist imagery.
At the time of the 1913 Armory Show, which introduced modern art to America, Davies was generally regarded as the foremost American artist – it was for this reason that the organizers of the Show asked him to endorse it, and he did. Davies became interested in Cubism for a number of years after this period, creating paintings and prints in a Cubist manner. In our opinion Figure in Glass represents his most successful Cubist print.