| Title: |
On Willow Brook |
| Artist: |
Davies, Arthur Bowen (Utica, New York, 1862 - Florence,
1928) |
| Date: |
1924 |
| Medium: |
Original Lithograph |
| Printer: |
George Miller |
| Note: |
Arthur Bowen Davies (Utica, New York, 1862 - Florence,
1928): Arthur Bowen Davies holds both a unique and important
position in the history of early twentieth century American art. A masterful
painter, lithographer and etcher, his art rejected both the realism of
Bellows, Hopper, Sloan and others and early experiments in abstraction
as seen in the graphic art of John Marin and Max Weber. Beginning around
1900, Arthur Davies focused his imagery almost entirely on a personal world of
imaginary nudes and landscapes. In A Century of American Printmaking
James Watrous writes, "The diversity that was developing in American printmaking
during the second and third decades of the century was compounded by the
prints of Arthur B. Davies. ...Davies conjured up figures and landscapes,
at once remote, poetic and ageless. As in his paintings, allegorical imagery
predominated and the idealized nudes that were even more prominent in
the lyrical landscapes of the prints assured an evocation of timeless
realms. They were features rarely found in American printmaking of any
period." * |
| |
After studying briefly at the National Academy of Design,
Arthur Bowen Davies worked as an engineering draftsman in Mexico from 1880 to 1882.
Upon his return to the United States he concluded his education at the
Art Institute of Chicago, the Art Students' League, New York, and in Italy.
Davies first rose to prominence in the 1890's, particularly after his
important one man show at the Macbeth Gallery, New York, in 1896. This
large exhibition featured both Davies's paintings and his first experiments
in lithography. Today his art is represented in most major American collections,
including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Chicago Art Institute.
The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco owns an impression of On Willow
Brook. |
| |
Arthur Davies was no less important as both a patron and
an organizer. He was the prime force behind the organization of the famous
1913 New York Armory Show, which gave America its first exposure to contemporary
trends in European art. He was also responsible for aiding in the foundation
of the Museum of Modern Art, New York. Davies was a founder and then President
of the American Association of Painters and Sculptors. |
| |
George Miller and Arthur Bowen Davies: During the first
half of the twentieth century George Miller was America's master lithographic
printer. Such great artists as Raphael Soyer, Childe Hassam, George Bellows,
Peggy Bacon, Grant Wood and Stow Wengenroth regularly sought his expertise.
Shortly after Miller's death in 1966, Lynd Ward wrote, "George Miller
had a great respect for the creative artist and a rare capacity to understand
what it was that the artist was after. He was ready to bend all the resources
of the lithographic technique to achieve that goal." ** |
| |
During the 1920's most of Davies's lithographic work was
assigned to George Miller. (In fact, Miller at this time ran into considerable
financial difficulties and it was Davies who advanced the necessary funds
to keep the printing establishment in operation.) Historians point to
the lithographs from this period as being among Davies's finest works
of art. Most of Davies's lithographs in this decade were printed by George Miller
in very small editions. Some were signed by Davies, while other impressions
were signed by Miller. On Willow Brook was printed in one sole
edition of twenty-five impressions. This particular impression is signed
in pencil by George Miller along the lower left margin. |
| Provenance: |
On Willow Brook hails from the collection of Roger Trlak and bearing his inventory
number, T-1188, on the verso. Roger Trlak (1934-1975) established the
commercial art company of Martin-Trlak in Chicago. In 1972 he also opened
the RST Gallery in Scottsdale, Arizona where he exhibited not only his
own large collection of 19th and 20th century art but also held important
exhibitions of many modern artists. These Included such major American
and international printmakers as Joseph Hirsch, Luigi Lucioni and Paul
Wunderlich. Among Trlak's closest friends in the arts community were Raphael
Soyer, Ivan Albright and Hans Burkhardt. Their original prints and paintings
were constantly exhibited at the RST Gallery until it was closed in 1975
due to Trlak's untimely death. |
| Raisonne: |
Joseph Czestochowski, Arthur Davies: A Catalogue Raisonne
of the Prints. |
| |
Catalogue # 211. First and only state as printed by George
Miller in the limited edition of twenty-five impressions in 1924. |
| Reference: |
* & ** James Watrous, A Century of American Printmaking,
1880-1980, Madison, the University of Wisconsin Press, 1984, pp. 62 &
63 and p. 121. |
| Size: |
11 X 17 1/2 (Sizes in inches are approximate,
height preceding width of plate-mark or image.) |
| |
Framed and Matted with 100% Archival Materials |
| |
View larger Framed Image |
| |
 |
| Buy Now |
Price: $950.00 US |
| Condition: |
Printed upon fine laid paper with the Rives watermark and
with wide, deckled margins as published in 1924 by George Miller in the
limited edition of 25 impressions. Signed in pencil, "George C. Miller,
Printer", to the lower left. Also Miller has written along the bottom
of the paper (under the matte), "By Arthur B. Davies, Pr. #116, 'On
Willow Brook'". slight matte staining is seen within the outer
margins (well away from the actual lithograph) else a superbly printed
impression and in excellent condition throughout. On Willow Brook represents
both a superb and scarce example of the famous American art of Arthur
Bowen Davies. |
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