20th Century American Prints

Lithograph, image size 18 x 13 inches, edition of 30, 1945, print signed, dated, edition number, and title in pencil. Plate signed "BS" l.r. Fine & Looney 246. Spruance studied in Paris after winning the coveted Cresson Scholarship in 1928 while attending college at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art. He studied with Edmond and Jaques Desjobert in Paris before returning to the US and continuing his nearly forty year career as a printmaker.

This is an original drypoint etching by American artist Gottlob L. Briem.  The title of this work was : Base of the Chrysler Building, New York, It was created and printed circa 1930, pencil signed and titled in the lower border, the image measures 14 5/8X10 3/16 inches.  Printed on a medium weight wove type paper.

This is an original lithograph by American artist John S. deMartelly.  The image, Old Moon was created and printed in 1938 and sold by Associated American Artists in New York.  The image measures 10 1/8X13 3/4 inches.  One of his best regionalist images.  Much in the style of Thomas Hart Benton of whom the artist knew and worked with  while at the Kansas City Art Institiute in the 1930's and early 40's.  This lithograph is framed with the AAA label on the back.

This is a fine original etching and aquatint by American artist Gottlob L. Briem. This rare image is titled Empire State Building, N.Y.C.  It was created and printed circa 1930.  It is pencil signed and inscribed "to Elmerine (Finn) a Vermont artist with best wishes".  The image measures 14X9 inches,  printed on a medium weight wove type paper.

This is an original handsigned woodblock print by Latvian-American artist Isac Friedlander. This work is titled: "Ghetto", it was created and printed in 1942. It is a very scarce image by this artist. It was created and printed in 1942. The image measures 9 3/4X10 7/8 inches. pencil signed titled and dated in the lower margin. This image was printed in an edition of only 26 signed proofs.. Isac Friedlander was born in 1890 in Mitau, Latvia. Those were difficult days for a captive people under the czarist yoke, but it was not long before young Isac’s assertive spirit emerged. At sixteen he was arrested and condemned to death, along with several of his classmates, for protesting compulsory uniforms and weekend curfews. His classmates were shot but his sentence was commuted to life imprisonment.

Fortunately, Friedlander’s skills in drawing and the portraits he did of his prison guards and their children came to the attention of a local functionary, who took an interest in him. In four years he was released. The war years of the 1940’s found him deeply troubled in spirit by the reports of sufferings and persecution of his people throughout Nazi-dominated Europe. Having experienced first hand in his youth the depth of man’s inhumanity to his fellow man, he now produced his heart-rending and powerful prints of the holocaust.

Friedlander’s woodcuts, wood engravings, and etchings are powerful expressions of the human condition. Death took him in 1968, but not before his spirit found renewed expression in his masterful prints of life among America’s urban blacks as the winds of social change were gathering to redress the wrongs of generations.

This is a fine original lithograph by American artist Ivan Albright, The title is:" Fleeting Time Thou Hast Left Me Old"  This lithograph was created and printed in 1945 in an edition of 250, published by Associated American Artists in New York.  The image measures 13 3/4X9 5/8 inches.  Hand signed and titled in pencil in the lower border.

This is a gorgeous original lithograph of ancient Greek ruins by Joseph Pennell, from his series "In the Land of Temples", based on his travels through Greece and Italy. The image size is 16 1/2 x 21 3/4 inches, published in 1913 in a very small edition of 50, printed on a watermarked wove type paper, pencil signed. In his book "In the Land of Temples", Pennell writes of this print "Swept away is everything, mysteries and all— all that remains is the great pavement on which stand the stumps of columns; yet I doubt if it was finer ever. And the long drive out over the sacred way, the long, quiet day; and the long drive back, with the Acropolis growing more and more majestic in the twilight, were perfect."

This is an original wood block print by American artist Werner Drewes.  It is a self portrait of the artist created and printed in 1971.  It is editioned as 22/40.  The image measures 18 1/2X11 1/2 inches.  Pencil signed by the artist, printed on a medium weight japan type paper.

Lithograph, image size 9 1/4 x 12 1/8 inches, 1940, AAA edition, cat. Zink-56, pencil signed

This is an original lithograph created by Japanese American artist Yasuo Kuniyoshi.  The title is Burlesque Queen, it was created and printed in 1936 for the American Artists School in New York City.  It was created in an edition of 100.  The image measures 11 5/8X9 1/2 inches.  This image is plate signed as issued, it is inscribed in pencil lower left "100 prints".  The sheet has the AAS blind stamp in the lower border and with a partial ink stamp on the back of the sheet from the American Artists School.

This is a fine original lithograph by American artist Reginald Marsh.  The title of this work is Girl Walking, it was created and printed in 1945 in an edition of 250, sold by Associated American Artists in New York.  This pencil signed impression has an image size of 10 9/16X7 7/8 inches.  Catalog S.28..

This is an original lithograph by American artist Kyra Markham.  The title is: In the Wings, created and printed in 1936, a back stage view of the performers on stage.  The image measures 13 1/2X10 inches, pencil signed,dated and titled in the lower border.  A rare image by this well known New York artist.

This expressive drypoint etching of ducks taking flight by Frank Benson was published in 1918 in an edition of 150. It is pencil signed on the lower margin. This image measures 7 7/8 x 9 7/8 inches with wide margins on a sheet size of 12 1/2 x 15 3/8 inches. Benson was a very successful painter and a member of "The Ten" along with Childe Hassam and J. Alden Weir, before he began his sporting paintings and etchings for which he is most widely known. In 1912, at the age of 50, Benson began his etchings and drypoints, mainly of wild fowl which he depicted with expressive lines and rich toning that exquisitely captured the life and energy of the wild birds. His etchings were in high demand from the very start, and have remained favorites for collectors ever since. He was a founding member of the Boston Guild of Artists and a long time teacher at the Museum School in Boston.

A very rare original woodblock print by Latvian- American artist Isac Friedlander The title of this work is "Mother", it was created and printed in 1939, editioned as 5/15. The woodblock print is hand signed, titled and editioned in pencil by the artist. The image measures 10 1/8X8 inches on a 15 1/2X12 1/2 inch wove type medium weight paper. Isac Friedlander (1890-1968) was born in Latvia. In 1912 he went to Italy where he met and worked with Russian artist Maxim Gorky. During this period he also received his only art training, studying etching, drawing and relief printing at the Academy of Rome. In 1937, he emigrated to New York where he worked full time as an artist until his death. He is best known for his woodcuts and etchings, and many museums have works by the artist, including the Smithsonian, Bibliotheque Nationale, and the Brooklyn Museum.

Drypoint etching, image size 14 x 12 7/8 inches, 1939, pencil signed and numbered 22/100