"Devotion" by Robert Frost

Utagawa Hiroshige

Devotion

The heart can think of no devotion

Greater than being shore to the ocean --

Holding the curve of one position,

Counting an endless repetition.

-- Robert Frost

Hiroshige: "Night Rain at Karasaki," from the series "Eight Views ofŌ-mi"

Utagawa Hiroshige

All night long in the storm, 

with the waves driving high, 

the moon hangs in the branches 

of Shiogoshi’s pines 

-- Saigyo

Fred Machetanz Lithographs

Fred Machetanz

Fred Machetanz

Fred Machetanz

Fred Machetanz

Fred Machetanz

Fred Machetanz

Frank Lloyd Wright: Surimono Collector

Surimono print

Surimono print

Surimono print

Surimono print

Surimono print

An outstanding catalogue of a significant collection ignored by earlier "specialists" who catalogued the Frank Lloyd Wright collection (and labeled the box of surimono simply as "small woodblock prints").

Ms. Mirviss applies her considerable knowledge of Japanese art and her expertise in the peculiarities of the (nearly illegible) script used for the poetry to bring this collection to life. Her unfailing artistic eye makes to this potentially confusing print genre accessible to the Western audience -- and even modern Japanese.

Stunning illustrations of previously unpublished or rarely seen works enhance the richness and pleasure of this catalogue and complement the descriptive text and translations.

Surimono were Japanese woodblock prints privately commissioned for special occasions, an important event, or for circulation among a small group of people. Several features that set surimono apart from commercially produced woodblock prints are their smaller size, complex compositions, the expensive pigments used in their printing (including hand-rubbed metallic or mother-of-pearl pigments), the use of luxurious paper, and the use of poetic inscriptions on almost all prints. 

Like commercial woodblock prints of the Edo period many surimono were designed by ukiyo-e artists such as Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849). 

The surimono published for the first time in this important catalog lay hidden in the Frank Lloyd Wright Archives at Taliesin West, Scottsdale, Arizona until their rediscovery in the mid-1980s.

Frank Lloyd Wright: Obsessed Japanese Print Collector

Frank Lloyd Wright

Frank Lloyd Wright

Frank Lloyd Wright

Some years ago, I bought a tall stack of vintage Frank Lloyd Wright Quarterly magazines for a dollar a throw. I almost deaccessioned them several times earlier, but given my current FLW obsession, I'm glad I still have them to read. 

Speaking of obsessions and collecting, an article in this issue states that FLW bought an estimated 13,000+ Japanese prints (not to mention the additional Asian Art screens, sculptures, ceramics, fabrics, etc.) during his lifetime. He would sell them during the times when money was tight and advised his wife to do the same, after he died. I don't feel nearly so sheepish about my comic book collecting years now...

"...His personal collection was a mixed bag, ranging from the marvelous to the spurious..."

Helen Siegl Relief Prints

Helen Siegl

Helen Siegl

Helen Siegl

Helen Siegl

Helen Siegl

Helen Siegl

Helen Siegl

Helen Siegl

During her career, Helen Siegl (1924-2009) was celebrated for both her individually signed and numbered prints and for her book illustrations. In the latter category, she illustrated such well-known works as The Dancing Palm Tree (Texas Tech) which was chosen one of The Years Best Illustrated Children's Books by the New York Times in 1990, Aesop's Fables (Random House), Birds and Beasts (World Publishing), Earrings for Celia (Pantheon), and Indian Tales (Random House). Siegl also illustrated limited-edition books such as Mother Goose & Herbal (Janus Press). She also designed calendars for UNICEF. 

As a printmaker, Siegl was renowned for her innovative techniques, often combining woodblocks, linoleum blocks, etchings, and even plaster blocks within the same work of art. Siegl's plaster block technique appeared in the American Artist magazine in May 1955. She also gave lectures on the subject at the Print Club in Philadelphia.

Pablo Picasso Linocut Prints: Always an Inspiration to Me

Pablo Picasso

Pablo Picasso

Pablo Picasso

Pablo Picasso

Pablo Picasso

Pablo Picasso

Pablo Picasso

Pablo Picasso

Pablo Picasso

Angie Lewin: Linocuts of Natural Network Patterns

Angie Lewin

Angie Lewin

Angie Lewin

Angie Lewin

Angie Lewin

Angie Lewin

Angie Lewin

Angie Lewin: Plants and Places

Text by Leslie Geddes-Brown

The artist Angie Lewin has a unique vision of the natural world. Her hugely popular prints depict in intricate detail the native flora of a variety of environments, from salt marsh and Highland loch to flower-strewn meadow and wild garden. Lewin finds beauty in each landscape, whatever the season, and is particularly inspired by plant forms: slender reeds, stately goatsbeard, spiky teasels and sculptural seed heads. 

Plants and Places presents over 70 of Lewin’s beautifully crafted linocuts and wood engravings.The works are grouped according to habitat – such as coast, woodland and hedgerow, and garden – together with drawings, paintings and collages from Lewin’s sketchbooks of grasses, seed pods, seaweed, shells and other objects that she has collected on her walks. In an engaging introduction, Leslie Geddes-Brown meets Lewin in her studio, discusses her artistic inspiration and her fascination with plants, and describes how she creates her prints.

More than 70 of Angie Lewin’s exquisite prints published together for the first time

Lewin’s distinctive vision of the natural world presented through her wood engravings, linocuts, sketches, paintings and collages

A delightful book for all nature lovers and gardeners, and a striking work of art in itself