Ozark Bridge
JACKSON LEE NESBITT
American, (1913-2008)
Etching, 1941, Retif / Salzer 20; edition 250. 11 3/4 x 9 1/2 in. Signed and titled in pencil. This is a fine impression with wide margins. The condition is excellent. This exemplary work was designed on a sketching trip in Arkansas with Thomas Hart Benton and two other artists. This work was published by Associated American Artists but a few impressions were also printed by the artist. This is one of those as it shows his signature and date on the plate in the extreme lower left corner.
$1,250

October Afternoon
JACKSON LEE NESBITT
American, (1913-2008)
Etching, 1946, Retif / Salzer 26, AAA 930; edition 250. 9 3/4 x 13 5/8 in. Signed and titled in pencil This is a superb, luminous impression with the full margins. Excellent condition. The setting is a sorghum mill near Liberty, Missouri. The artist considered this to be his best, early print. It was published by AAA in 1947.
$2,000

Auction Barn
JACKSON LEE NESBITT
American, (1913-2008)
Lithograph, 1989, Retif/Salzar 37, edition 250. 17 x 12 1/2 in. Signed, titled and numbered in pencil. This is a superb impression with full margins. The condition is fine. This exceptional work was inspired by Benton and his strong sense of design. Apparently, Nesbitt and Benton visited the barn on one of their sketching trips. Nesbitt also produced an egg tempera painting which is now in the collection of the University of Missouri. The barn is/was located outside of Independence, Missouri. The printer was Wayne Kline.
$3,000

The Spirit of Butler
JACKSON LEE NESBITT
American, (1913-2008)
Etching, 1940, Retif/Salzer 19; edition 100. 13 x 10 1/8 in. Signed and titled in pencil, and, with the inscription, "The Butler Mfg. Company Spirit." This is a fine impression of this extremely rare print. We've never seen it for sale and there are no auction records for it. Butler was run by Swedes and the sitter, Swen, is surrounded by the products made by the Company. This is an exemplary work depicting the American industrial scene circa 1940. The margins are full and the condition is fine apart from faint discoloration in the lower right margin corner.
SOLD

Solid Reflections
LOUISE NEVELSON
American, (1899-1988)
Etching, engraving, aquatint and soft ground, 1953-55 , Baro 24, Pace 47; edition 20. 27 3/8 x 21 3/4 in. Signed, numbered and titled in pencil. This is a superb, rich impression printed on RIVES watermarked paper. The margins are full and the condition is excellent. This was one of about thirty etchings Nevelson did while working at Atelier 17 in New York between 1953-55. One a few proofs were printed at that time. The formal edition was printed at the Hollander Graphic workshop by Emiliano Sorini between 1965 and 1966 under the supervision of the artist. This impression is from this edition. The imagery here anticipates her growing interest in black sculpture.
SOLD

Woman and Child by the Water
JULIETTE S. NICHOLS
American, (1870-circa 1958)
White line color woodcut, undated (circa 1915-20), edition unknown. 11 x 12 1/2 in. Signed in pencil. This is a fine, luminous impression with the full margins. The condition is fine apart from a couple of professionally flattened creases in the margins only. The paper is a cream, light tan color. This is a great example of her work and and exceedingly rare. Studying in Paris, she learned Japanese woodcut techniques from Edna Boies Hopkins and exhibited her work at the American Women’s Art Association alongside a few other artists who would eventually form the group known as the Provincetown printers. She also studied with Blanche Lazzell when she arrived in Provincetown in 1915. Nichols exhibited her white line woodblock prints in the very first show of the Provincetown Printers at the Berlin Photographic Company in New York City in 1916. They held their first Provincetown show at Ambrose Webster’s Studios. Her work was also exhibited in numerous prominent arts clubs and associations throughout the northeast including the Provincetown Art Association. In the mid 1920’s Nichols traveled again to Paris. She also lived in Marietta, Ohio and New York in the 1920s. This is the only impression we are aware of.
$13,500

The Bridge
BJO NORDFELDT
American, (1878-1955)
Woodcut printed in colors, 1906, Donovan/Brown 8; edition unknown. 8 1/8 x 10 1/4 in. Signed, dated and numbered "No. 117" in pencil. This is a fine impression with narrow margins to just around the borderline, so typical of this print. The condition is very good. (There's a tiny speck of foxing at the borderline, upper right and a very subtle soft crease in the lower left corner of the image.) This lovely print appears in multiple color variations which is a concept Nordfeldt mastered with great effect. He was an experimenter. While spending time in Paris studying French woodcuts he became aware of Japanese Ukiyo-e prints which inspired him throughout his career. Furthermore, he studied with Frank Morley Fletcher while in England. Nordfeldt was living in Chicago in 1906 and this work was likely inspired by his time in Sweden where he was born. Impressions of this print are located in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Minneapolis Institute of Art and the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
$6,800

Two Men Digging
BJO NORDFELDT
American, (1878-1955)
Woodcut printed in colors, 1906, Donovan 17, edition unknown. 11 1/4 x 7 5/8 in. Signed, dated and numbered "No. 205" in pencil. This is a superb impression on japanese paper trimmed to just outside the margin by the artist. The condition is fine. Our impression is nicer than the one illustrated in the catalogue raisonné. Nordfeldt was born in Sweden and later went to England to study with Frank Morley Fletcher. The year after this print was made the artist left Chicago for the east coast and ended up in New York. He summered in Provincetown, MA. This is a rare print in spite of the 'No. 205" written on it. Provenance: The Old Print Shop, NY. (Framed in a lovely arts and crafts oak frame.)
$9,000

Blue Macaw
ELIZABETH NORTON
American, (1888-1985)
Woodcut printed in colors, 1928, edition 100. 9 5/8 x 5 1/8 in. Signed, titled, dated and numbered in pencil. Signed with the monogram in the block at lower right. This is a fine impression printed on thin Japan paper. This sheet is mounted to a support sheet at the four corners. The condition is very good apart from a vertical break in the tissue away from the image at the left, most likely from the printing process. Elizabeth Norton was born in Chicago, Illinois, on December 16, 1887 and studied at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1910, the Art Students' League, National Academy of Design and the Chase School in New York (now Parsons School of Design). She traveled to California in 1915 to see the Panama Pacific Exposition in San Francisco, returning in 1919 to make the San Francisco Bay Area her home.
$1,000

Rocks of Cape Ann (MA)
STEPHEN PARRISH
American, (1846-1938)
Etching, 1881, Schneider 45 (ii/II), edition unknown. 6 3/4 x 14 5/8 in. Signed in the plate, lower left. Titled in the plate, lower right. Here we have a fine, tonal impression printed on a sturdy wove paper. The margins are apparently full and the condition is fine. This print is lited in five museum collections.
SOLD

Santa Rosita (Hollister Peak)
ROI PARTRIDGE
American, (1888-1984)
Etching, 1923, White 141 (i/II), edition 92. 9 3/4 x 11 7/8 in. Signed and dated in the plate, upper right. Signed in pencil. Here we have a fine impression printed on a light cream laid paper. The margins are full. The condition is fine apart from traces of small old hinges at the top corners of the margins. Partridge began teaching at Mills College in 1920 and later served as director of their Art Gallery. Forty-two of his etchings were exhibited at the Panama-Pacific International Exhibition in 1915. This stellar print was included in Fine Prints of the Year, 1924. The artist was married to the photographer Imogen Cunningham from 1915 until 1934.
SOLD

Landscape with Live Oak
ROI PARTRIDGE
American, (1888-1984)
Etching, 1946-51, White 264, edition 62. 7 3/8 x 9 in. Signed in the plate, lower right. Signed in pencil. Here we have a fine crisp impression with probably the full margins. The condition is excellent. According to White, "This etching was made on the La Cumbre Ranch near Santa Barbara, California."
$800

Windblown Trees
MARGARET PATTERSON
American, (1867-1950)
Woodcut printed in colors, circa 1920, Bakker 56a, edition unknown. 7 x 9 3/4 in. Signed in pencil, lower right, within the image. This is a superb, vibrant impression of this well known image. The print is trimmed along the edge of the image (by the artist) and attached at the top to a black paper support sheet which extends slightly beyond the print (also done by the artist). In addition, the print and black paper are mounted at the top edge to a sturdy, tan matboard-like support. This is the original presentation as prepared by Patterson and we've seen this approach before. The condition is excellent. As viewed on page 20 of the Bakker retrospective catalogue from 1989, there's an oil study for this image as well as a charcoal and white pastel drawing.
SOLD

Anemones
MARGARET PATTERSON
American, (1867-1950)
Woodcut printed in colors, undated (1920s), Bakker 99a, intended edition of 100. 9 7/8 x 7 in. Signed and titled in pencil. This is a fine, luminous impression printed on a fibrous, off white Japanese paper. The margins are full. The condition is quite good. This is a rare, annotated proof before the formal edition. The artist has made pencil annotations in the margins referencing difference colors for possible changes, ie. "black," "white," "dark green," etc. This is the completed image, but as is so often the case with arts and crafts era woodcut artists, they are always thinking about the next impression and how they might make color adjustments. We have never seen a Patterson print like this and consider it a unique opportunity.
SOLD

The Winding Road
MARGARET PATTERSON
American, (1867-1950)
Woodcut printed in colors, undated (circa 1912-14), Bakker 29, edition unknown. 7 x 9 1/2 in. Unsigned. This is a fine impression of this uncommon, early work. The margins are narrow and certainly trimmed as such by the artist. The condition is fine. (This impression is originally from the estate of the artist.) This delightful, arts and crafts image is certainly a European scene; we know that Patterson did travel to France, Holland and Belgium before WWI.
SOLD

Bleeding Heart
MARGARET PATTERSON
American, (1867-1950)
Woodcut printed in colors, circa 1925, Bakker 93, intended edition of 100 but far fewer were actually printed. 7 x 10 in. Signed and titled in pencil. This is a superb, crisp impression printed on the usual heavy, fibrous, creamy Japanese paper. The margins are full and the condition is fine. This print is not numbered but her prints occasionally turn up as such. This stellar impression has rich, fresh colors in the flowers and the lighter background inking is a nice departure from the heavy, intense inking of so many of her floral woodcuts.
SOLD

Surf and Rocks
MARGARET PATTERSON
American, (1867-1950)
Woodcut printed in colors, 1915-20, Bakker 47, edition 100 (?) 7 3/8 x 10 5/8 in. Signed in pencil (twice), numbered and also titled by the artist. This is a fine impression of this very rare woodcut. The margins are trimmed (by the artist) on the top and sides and there's about 3/4" along the bottom. The print is attached to a sheet of sturdy black paper which was most likely done by the artist. The edge of the sheet shows about 1/8" around the print which adds a decorative design element. The Bakker retrospective catalogue from 1989 only lists a gouache study for the print and not the woodcut. This is the first time we've handled an impression of "Surf and Rocks" and it depicts the rocky New England coastline, possibly Maine.
SOLD

Rose with Vine and Bud
MARGARET PATTERSON
American, (1867-1950)
Woodcut, 1947, Bakker Retrospective catalogue 112b, small edition. 6 1/4 x 4 3/8 in. Signed and dated in pencil. This is a superb impression of this very rare work. The margins are trimmed to the borderline (by the artist). The condition is fine apart from a small ink smudge in the blank area at left, probably which occurred during the course of the printing process. This endearing work is Patterson's last recorded woodcut and this impression is illustrated on page 36 of the Bakker catalogue.
SOLD

Summer Flowers
MARGARET PATTERSON
American, (1867-1950)
Woodcut printed in colors, 1920s, Bakker 100a, intended edition of 100. 10 1/4 x 7 1/8 in. Signed in pencil in the image, lower right. Signed titled and numbered just below the image. This is a superb, luminous impression of this rare print. The margins measure about 1/2" all around but this is most likely the full, untrimmed sheet as printed. The condition is fine apart from a small strip of scotch tape on the verso edges, top and bottom. This does not affect the front of the sheet in any way. The paper is Patterson's typical sturdy, somewhat thick Japanese paper which is especially well-suited for intensely rubbing the colors onto the paper from the back of the sheet.
SOLD

Summer Flowers
MARGARET PATTERSON
American, (1867-1950)
Woodcut printed in colors, 1920s, Bakker 100a, intended edition of 100. 10 1/4 x 7 1/8 in. Signed, titled and numbered in pencil. This is a superb, luminous impression of this rare print. The margins measure about 1/2" all around but this is most likely the full, untrimmed sheet as printed. The condition is excellent. The paper is Patterson's typical sturdy, thick Japanese paper which is especially well-suited for intensely rubbing the colors onto the paper from the back of the sheet.
SOLD