From the early 1900’s through the 1950’s there was an explosion of activity in the United States from artists creating fine art prints. Techniques such as etching, drypoint, aquatint, stone lithography, woodcut and wood engraving were refined and perfected to create some of the best art of the 20th century. These prints are aesthetically pleasing but also give a unique perspective of the history of this era in American life.
The purpose of this site is to explore the artists and their “works on paper” as well as some of the institutions they created to advance their skills, market their production and increase awareness of their art. We will cover such artists as Joseph Pennell, James Swann, Bertha Jaques, Levon West, Frank Benson, Leon Pescheret, Otis Dozier, Blanche McVeigh and John Winkler. The organizations we will focus on include the Chicago Society of Etchers, the Prairie Print Makers, the Lone Star Printmakers,the Woodcut Society and others.
The site is not intended to sell prints. It is intended to provide a source of information. We encourage others to submit posts for publication. All posts published will be linked to the website of the author. It is our hope that others who share our enthusiasm for these art forms will participate in this project “In Praise of Prints.”
Hi Jim please keep me informed of exhibitions and dialogue regarding fine art prints.
David
I will. Thanks for letting me be involved in your excellent class on making a lithograph. It was very informative and well presented.
Found “In Praise of Prints.” Will follow in the future.
Jack
Your thoughts and comments would be appreciated.
Thanks
Jim
A wonderful site on an important but neglected aspect of American art. Kudos Jim!
Peter – I am glad you like the site. It is a very enjoyable way for me to share the joys of collecting and to tell the stories of the art and artists from this rich period of American printmaking. To have people appreciate what I am writing makes it very rewarding as well. Thanks, Jim
Jim, great to see you doing this work. I’m proud of my friends when they believe in something enough to spread the word.
Morris
Thanks for the encouragement. I have a lot of fun researching and writing the articles. (A side benefit is that if a dinner conversation ever lags, I can always add a tidbit about Levon West or Ivan Dmitri.)
Thanks for creating this site–it’s a great resource for beginners learning about prints, like me.
Thank you for your kind remarks. I love the prints and the stories of their creators. Hope you enjoy them as much as I have enjoyed writing them.