Accordian Player
NICOLAS (NICO) EEKMAN
Belgian, (1889-1973)
Woodcut, undated (1920s-1930s), edition 110. 16 1/4 x 8 in. Signed and numbered in pencil. Signed in ink with the artist's red monogram stamp. This is a fine impression of this large woodcut printed on very thin Japanese paper. The margins are probably full. The condition is very good apart from four small brown paper hinges at the corners and obscure traces of foxing here and there. Eekman was born in Brussels and settled in Paris in 1920. He exhibited widely in Europe and was quite friendly with Mondrian and Signac. He was very active as a painter and woodblock artist and also showed his prints in Pittsburgh, Los Angeles, Toronto and Chicago. (There's a wonderful web site which has been organized by the artist's daughter, Luce: nicolaseekman.com.) As seen in the work of Henri van Straten, Victor Delhez and Nicolas Eekman, among others, a macabre and thoroughly captivating sense of humor often pervades Belgian aesthetics during the 1920s and 1930s. Ensor was an influence on this generation.
$1,500

The Couple
NICOLAS (NICO) EEKMAN
Belgian, (1889-1973)
Woodcut, 1920s, edition perhaps 25-50. 7 3/4 x 8 in. Signed in pencil and also signed in red ink with the artist's monogram. This a fine impression printed on thin Japanese paper. The margins are full and the condition is fine. The artist attached the print to a sheet of tan paper at the top corners which created the effect of a nighttime atmosphere. Eekman was born in Brussels and settled in Paris in 1920. He exhibited widely in Europe and was quite friendly with Mondrian and Signac. He was very active as a painter and woodblock artist and also showed his prints in Pittsburgh, Los Angeles, Toronto and Chicago. (There's a wonderful web site which has been organized by the artist's daughter, Luce: nicolaseekman.com.) As seen in the work of Henri van Straten, Victor Delhez and Nicolas Eekman, among others; a macabre, expressionist, and captivating (yet understated) sense of humor often pervades Belgian aesthetics during the 1920s and 1930s. Ensor was an influence on this generation.
SOLD

The Steps
FRITZ EICHENBERG
American, (1901-1990)
Wood engraving, 1934, edition 200. 6 1/4 x 4 3/4 in. Signed and titled in pencil. This is a fine, rich impression with full margins. The condition is excellent. Born in Germany, Eichenberg moved to America when Hitler came into power. In New York he taught at Pratt and the New School and was active in the WPA program. He was a member of the National Academy of Design. The Steps is one of four early prints depicting life in New York.
$1,400

Rooftops
OSCAR ERICKSON
American, (1883-1968)
Woodcut printed in color, circa 1930, edition 100. 7 x 7 7/8 in. Initialed in the block, lower right, with the artist's monogram. Signed, titled and numbered in pencil. This is a fine impression printed on japan paper with full margins. The condition is fine apart from very slight toning within an earlier mat opening. Erickson studied at the Herron Art Institute and the Art Institute of Chicago. He was active in Door County, WI as well as Brown County, IN and further south into Tennessee and the area around Asheville, NC. He produced many woodcuts in an arts and crafts style.
SOLD

Wiston River
FRANK MORLEY FLETCHER
British/American, (1866-1949)
Woodcut printed in colors, circa 1900-1905, edition 100. 8 3/8 x 14 1/2 in. Signed, titled and numbered in pencil. This is a superb, luminous impression with probably full margins. The condition is fine apart from very thin pieces of brown paper tape along the edges of the sheet. This stellar early work was done in his native Lancashire, England. Color variations exist with this and his other prints which add much diversity to his rather limited oeuvre. There's no formal catalogue raisonné of his woodcuts but there's an excellent article by Nancy Green in the following: Second Impressions; Modern Prints and Printmakers Reconsidered, edited by Clinton Adams, volume 16 of the Tamarind Papers, 1996, University of New Mexico Press, pages 37-48.
$6,000

Salinas River - California
FRANK MORLEY FLETCHER
British/American, (1866-1949)
Woodcut printed in colors, 1927-28, edition 100. 12 3/4 x 16 7/8 in. Signed and titled in pencil. This is a good impression printed on Japanese paper. The margins are full and the condition is good. (There are three small areas touched in with gouache(?) certainly by the artist, and faint traces of soiling in the water.) The importance of Fletcher both in England and later in America cannot be overstated. His seminal publication, Wood-Block Printing, published in 1916, had a lasting impact on many printmakers who explored the color woodcut medium. He came to America in 1923 and settled in Santa Barbara where he taught at the Santa Barbara School of Art. He became a naturalized citizen in 1926. This large print is an iconic arts and crafts California woodcut.
$4,000

Via Appia I
HANS FRANK
Austrian, (1884-1948)
Woodcut printed in colors on thin Japanese paper, 1929, edition unknown. 11 3/8 x 15 1/4 in. Signed and dated in pencil. A fine impression with full margins. Fine condition. Faint trace of a printing crease in upper right side. Uncommon.
$750

Working the Fields
LEO FRANK
Austrian, (1884-1959)
Woodcut printed in colors, circa 1930, edition unknown but probably fifty or fewer. 9 x 13 3/4 in. Signed in pencil. A fine, luminous impression printed on thin Japanese paper. Full margins. In very good condition apart from a paper imperfection or thin spot in the sky, not very noticeable.
$750

Along the Nile
LEO FRANK
Austrian, (1884-1959)
Woodcut printed in colors, 1920s, edition unknown but probably about 100. 9 1/8 x 11 in. Signed in pencil. This fine impression on thin Japanese paper is inscribed "No.82." The margins are wide and the condition is fine. This wonderful print combines just the right paper with subtle colors and inking to produce a dramatic vista.
$800

Mondsee (Austria)
HANS FRANK
Austrian, (1884-1948)
Woodcut printed in colors, 1935, edition unknown. 13 1/4 x 12 1/2 in. Signed and dated in pencil. This is a superb, luminous impression printed on thin Japanese paper. The margins appear to be full. The condition is excellent. Here we have a large and exemplary work by Frank which shows a scene near Salzburg. This impression is from the celebrated collection of Robert O. Muller from Connecticut.
$1,200

Sun Breaking through the Clouds
HANS FRANK
Austrian, (1884-1948)
Woodcut printed in colors, 1921, edition unknown. 8 1/4 x 11 3/8 in. Signed and dated in pencil. This is a superb impression printed on thin Japanese paper. The margins are wide and probably untrimmed. The condition is fine. Frank was born in Vienna and exhibited with the Künstler House, the Society of Graver-Printers in Colour and the Printmakers Society of CA. His work was also included is several Secessionist exhibitions in Vienna.
SOLD

Spinning Wheel
WANDA GAG
American, (1893-1946)
Wood engraving, 1928, Winnan 57 (iii/III), edition 100. 4 3/4 x 3 3/4 in. Signed in pencil. This is a fine impression on light cream wove paper with substantial margins (possibly full). The condition is fine. This impression is from the signed edition of 100 printed by the Spiral Press. There was an additional unsigned edition of 2,000 on card stock for a Weyhe Gallery invitation to a show of Gag's work.
SOLD

Airtight Stove
WANDA GAG
American, (1893-1946)
Wood engraving, 1927-1933, Winnans 49 (ix/IX), edition 250. 4 7/8 x 3 5/8 in. Signed in pencil. Here we have a fine impression with full margins. The condition is excellent. The edition was printed in 1934 by the International Print Guild for distribution to their membership. In the lower right corner, there's a vague outline of a cat's face.
$900

Christmas in New York
WANDA GAG
American, (1893-1946)
Linoleum cut, 1928, Winnan 60 (ii/II), edition 25. 8 x 6 1/2 in. Signed, dated and titled in pencil. this is a fine, rich impression printed on a thin cream laid paper. The margins are full. The condition is fine apart from a wrinkle in the lower right corner well away from the image. Two studies for this print are in the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
$1,250

Franklin Stove
WANDA GAG
American, (1893-1946)
Wood engraving, 1927, Winnan 51 (iii/III), edition 100. 7 x 5 in. Signed in the block, upper right corner. Signed in pencil. This is a fine, dark impression printed on thin cream laid paper. The margins are full. The condition is fine other than for a minor wrinkle on the edge of the sheet, upper right. Fourteen impressions are cited in museum collections including the Rijksmuseum.
$650

Passaconaway
ELIZA D. GARDINER
American, (1871-1955)
Woodcut printed in colors, 1919, Falk 26, edition perhaps 40. 7 1/2 x 10 in. Signed in the image in pencil, lower right. This is a very fine impression with full margins. The paper is an off-white fibrous wove and the condition is fine. (There's a small paper loss at the upper right corner, away from the image.) Mt. Passaconaway is a scenic 4,000 foot high peak in the White Mountains which is in Grafton County, New Hampshire.
$2,000

The Young Gardener
ELIZA D. GARDINER
American, (1871-1955)
Woodcut printed in colors, possibly 1927, small edition. 8 1/2 x 5 3/4 in. Signed in pencil, lower left. This is a superb impression printed on Japan paper. The margins are probably full and untrimmed and the condition is excellent. This is one of her finest prints and is quite uncommon. To quote Peter Falk, "Eliza Draper Gardiner was among America's pioneers in color woodblock printing. To be counted among this small group would be a proud claim for most artists, yet Gardiner is further distinguished by her unexpected success in expressing human emotions... Her chosen subject matter was childhood, and in this realm there were few who could claim to be her equal." (See Eliza Draper Gardiner, Master of the Color Woodblock, 1987, unpaginated.)
SOLD

Eucalyptus Grove and Stream
FRANCES GEARHART
American, (1869-1959)
Block print printed in colors, circa 1930, edition probably 30-50. 6 1/2 x 3 5/8 in. Signed in pencil. Here we have a fine impression printed on her typical sturdy, fibrous Japanese paper. The margins are full. The condition is fine other than for a very faint suggestion of light toning just outside the image within an early mat opening. This small, charming work is not listed in the Pasadena retrospective catalogue from 2009.
SOLD

October Splendor
FRANCES GEARHART
American, (1869-1959)
Block print printed in colors, 1930, Pasadena catalogue page 100, edition probably 30-50. 9 1/2 x 8 1/8 in. Signed and titled in pencil. This is a fine impression with vibrant colors printed on Japanese paper. The margins are full. The condition is very good other than for some stray printing ink in the water at right and some of the same in the left margin.
$4,500

Incoming Fog
FRANCES GEARHART
American, (1869-1959)
Block print printed in colors, probably 1930-31., edition unknown. 10 x 10 7/8 in. Signed and titled in pencil. This is a superb impression printed on her typical, fibrous wove paper. The margins are full and the condition is fine. This stellar work is illustrated on page 83 of Behold the Day, The Color Block Prints of Frances Gearhart, published by the Pasadena Museum of California Art, edited by Susan Futterman. The prints were made primarily from linoleum blocks but the artist liked to call them "block prints".
$9,000