Summer Dawn - Loch Etive-Side
ANN D. ALEXANDER
Scottish, (b. 1890)
Woodcut printed in colors, 1932, edition unknown (probably 50). 6 1/2 x 10 in. Signed, dated and titled in pencil. This is a fine impression on Japanese paper. The margins are fine and the condition is very good. (There's slight minor toning within an earlier mat opening.) Loch Etive joins the sea between the villages of Connel and Dunstaffnage. Ex-collection: Robert O. Muller.
$1,100

Summer Afterglow, Loch Etive-side IV
ANN D. ALEXANDER
Scottish, (b. 1890)
Woodcut printed in colors, 1933, edition probably 50. 7 x 10 in. Signed, dated and titled in pencil. This is a very fine impression with full margins. The condition is fine apart frame a very faint suggestion of toning within an early mat opening. The artist studied at the Glasgow School of Art and exhibited extensively between 1917 and 1940. Ex-collection: Robert O Muller.
$1,100

Farmhouse with a Kalefield in the Foreground
JAN ALTINK
Dutch, (1885-1971)
Etching with plate tone, 1925, small edition. Rare. 9 3/4 x 10 3/4 in. Signed, dated and inscribed "eigendruk." This is a superb impression with full margins. The condition is excellent. Altink was born, raised and studied in Groningen and this is a view of the countryside where he lived. He was a founding member of the Dutch expressionist group called "de Ploeg" which means both "plow" and "team". He was also a gifted painter. The Groninger Museum houses a solid collection of his work and of other de Ploeg artists such as Wiegers, Dijkstra, Alkema, Faber, etc. Since 1993, the Museum has published a series of books on de Ploeg artists and the volume devoted to Altink, "Jan Altink - Iconen Van Het Groningerland," was recently published.
$1,750

Small Bridge with Trees and House
JAN ALTINK
Dutch, (1885-1971)
Etching and aquatint, 1925, Small edition. 11 x 9 5/8 in. Signed in pencil. Here we have a fine impression with full margins. The condition is excellent. We've located two paintings that relate to this scene. We also had an impression printed in blue ink titled, Blauwbrugje, (Little Blue Bridge.) This print is a splendid example of Dutch expressionism.
$2,200

Masque of the Red Death (the title of the volume)
JOHN BUCKLAND-WRIGHT
British, (1897-1954)
Wood engraving, 1932, Buckland Wright A-9; edition 175. 6 1/4 x 4 1/4 in. Signed in pencil. This is a fine, rich impression with probably the full margins. The condition is excellent. This is one of thirteen wood engravings in this publication. The edition was printed in 1932 by Halcyon Press in Maastricht.
$500

Two Skulls
ANTOON DERKZEN VAN ANGEREN
Dutch, (1878-1961)
Etching, 1906, edition unknown. 14 1/2 x 11 3/4 in. Signed and dated in pencil. Here we have a fine impression of this compelling print. The margins are full and the condition is excellent. He started out as a decorator of Delft pottery and ultimately taught printmaking at the Academy of Fine Arts in Rotterdam from 1917-1943. He moved to Canada after the war and lived there the rest of his life. His etchings are discussed on pages 172-173 of Holland on Paper in the Age of Art Nouveau (2014) by Cliff Ackley. Skulls as a still life are a favorite subject of the artist. This idea of momento mori relates back to still life painting in the Netherlands during the 17th century.
SOLD

Before the Thunderstorm (Vor dem Gewitter)
LEO FRANK
Austrian, (1884-1959)
Woodcut printed in colors, circa 1925, edition unknown. 9 x 14 in. Signed in pencil lower right, in the image. This is a fine, atmospheric impression printed on thin Japanese paper. The margins are full and the condition is fine. Leo and his twin brother, Hans, both studied at the School of Applied Arts in Vienna and later at the Vienna Academy. Their woodcuts were clearly influenced by Japanese prints and they were superb technicians.
$900

Death and the Girl (Tod und die Mädchen)
KARL FREUND
German, (1892-1943)
Woodcut, 1938, edition unknown. 13 x 9 1/8 in. Signed, dated and titled in ink. This is a fine impression with full margins. The condition is fine apart from a few soft wrinkles in the margins only. This image is a potent contribution to the love and death theme encountered in art history over the centuries. Freund was well trained as an artist and he also took several courses in philosophy. He served in the military in WW1 and spent two years as a POW in Siberia. He later became a curator at the Hessisches Landesmuseum, Darmstadt, but was later dismissed for being Jewish. He was sent to Buchenwald in 1938 and ultimately met his demise in Auschwitz in 1943.
$800

Civic Insomnia
GERALD GEERLINGS
American, (1897-1998)
Aquatint in color, 1932, Czestochowski 28; edition 38. 10 3/4 x 14 1/8 in. Signed, titled and dated (New York, 1932) in pencil. This is a fine impression of this exceedingly rare color version. The margins are full and the condition is excellent. Geerlings would occasionally use green paper for his prints and in this case, this is the only time we have seen the buildings and some of the water with color; possibly a unique version. Civic Insomnia is a remarkable tour de force of aquatint and it's also become very rare. There are twenty-three impressions cited in museum collections including multiple trial proofs in two institutions. This amounts to twenty-nine impressions. (This is the third impression we have sold.) On page 14 of the catalogue it states, "Geerlings's temperament was intrinsically experimental; he was an avid student of techniques...Even when he worked in black and white, Geerlings would not let a subject go until he exhausted all of its chromatic possibilities."
$9,000

Three Graces of the Ballet
LAURA KNIGHT
British, (1877-1970)
Soft ground etching, 1926, Bolling/Withington 43; edition 30. 13 7/8 x 9 3/4 in. Signed in pencil. Here we have a fine, rich impression with full margins. The condition is fine apart from two small, old paper hinges on the left edge of the sheet. Knight produced several prints of women dressing with a focus on clothes, mirrors and make-up within the atmosphere of a theatrical dressing room. This is one of her best prints.
SOLD

Lady with a Shawl
LAURA KNIGHT
British, (1877-1970)
Soft ground etching with aquatint, 1926, Bolling/Withington 45; edition 35. 13 1/2 x 9 7/8 in. Signed in pencil. This is a superb impression in fine condition. The margins are full. (There are two paper hinges at the left edge of the sheet and a small, subtle tape stain in the center, verso, not showing on the front.)
$1,500

Miners
CHET LA MORE
American, (1908-1980)
Woodcut printed in colors, circa 1940, edition probably about 25. 11 7/8 x 15 7/8 in. Signed and titled in pencil. This is a fine, rich impression with full margins. The condition is also fine. This print was published as part of the WPA program dating from 1935-43 and an impression is found in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. La More was from Wisconsin and later taught at the University of Buffalo. He taught at the University of Michigan until his retirement in 1974. This compelling woodcut is one of his best and largest works.
$2,200

Anna
PAUL LANDACRE
American, (1893-1963)
Wood engraving, 1937, Wien 201, Zeitlen & Ver Brugge 84; edition 60. 9 x 4 1/2 in. Signed, titled and numbered in pencil. Here we have a superb impression printed on thin Japanese paper. The margins appear to be full and the condition is excellent. This print was selected for exhibition at the Venice Biennale, 1938.
$2,850

Ariadne
SYDNEY LEE
British, (1866-1949)
Woodcut printed in colors, circa 1904, Meyrick 28, edition 50. 9 5/8 x 8 7/8 in. Initialed in the block, lower left. Signed in pencil. This is a fine impression of this rare print. The margins are substantial and this appears to be the full sheet as printed. The condition is fine apart from some discoloration in the lower right corner in the margin only. The catalogue illustrates six color variations of this captivating image. Meyrick states," Ariadne, daughter of King Minos of Crete, fell in love with Thesus, who had traveled to Crete to kill the Minotour. When she gave him a sword and thread to guide him through the Labyrinth, he promised to marry her. After he killed the beast they sailed for Athens, but on the way Thesus abandoned Ariadne on Naxos."
$3,000

Ice Cream Cones
MARTIN LEWIS
American, (1881-1962)
Drypoint and sand ground, 1928, McCarron 73, edition 70. 9 3/8 x 14 3/4 in. Signed in the plate lower left. Signed in pencil. (This fine impression was printed by the artist.) The margins are full and the condition is very good. (There's a small, subtle stain to the right of the image in the margin only.) This impression went through Kennedy Galleries as their price code is in pencil on the verso.
$5,500

The Roustabout
MARTIN LEWIS
American, (1881-1962)
Etching with sand ground, 1916, McCarron 14, edition only 6. 8 7/8 x 6 in. Signed in pencil. This is a fine impression of this rare, early work. The margins are full and the condition is fine. (There's a very faint suggestion of toning within an early mat opening.) The bridge in the distance is Manhattan Bridge. This is only one of two images by Lewis where an African American is the primary subject of the print. A roustabout is an itinerant laborer who often works the docks or oil fields.
SOLD

Tree Manhattan
MARTIN LEWIS
American, (1881-1962)
Drypoint, 1930, McCarron 87, edition 91 including 10 trial proofs. 12 7/8 x 9 7/8 in. Signed in the plate, lower left. Signed in pencil. This is a superb, luminous impression with full margins. The condition is fine. (There's just a very faint suggestion of a mat line.) This exceptional print contains all the elements of a great Martin Lewis; dramatic lights and darks, solitary figures, well-integrated architectural design and there's that added element of urban mystery to engage our imagination.
$13,000

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.
$3,800

Foxgloves
MABEL ROYDS
British, (1874-1941)
Woodcut printed in colors, undated (1930s), Barton 46, edition unknown. 6 3/4 x 8 1/8 in. Signed in pencil. Here we have a fine impression with full margins. The condition is excellent. Royds woodcuts often vary in colors which is part of their appeal. Her floral prints are increasingly hard to find.
$1,400

The Kiss (der Kuss)
FERDINAND SCHMUTZER
Austrian, (1870-1928)
Etching, 1904, Weixlgärtner 76 (ii/II), edition unknown. 5 3/4 x 3 1/2 in. Signed in pencil in the image, lower left. This is a fine impression of this charming print. The margins are full and the condition is fine. Schmutzer studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna and spent two years in Holland on a scholarship. He loved the Dutch painters of the 17th century and especially Rembrandt's etchings. He was also a talented photographer and became well know in this medium. In 1901, he became a member of the Vienna Secession.
$550