Big Bend
Lithograph, 1938, Ryan 5, MacRae pg. 23; edition 10 (30?) 11 1/8 x 14 3/8 in. Signed and numbered "ed 10." This is a fine impression with full margins. The condition is excellent. MacRae lists the edition as thirty however our impression is numbered as above. Ryan states the edition is ten which agrees with our numbering. MacRae dates this print to 1938 whereas Ryan lists the date as 1937.
$1,800

Coal Heavers
Etching, 1935, Ryan 65, McRae 65; edition unknown. 11 7/8 x 9 7/8 in. Signed in pencil. This is a superb impression with full margins. The condition is fine. This uncommon print is located in the Smithsonian, the National Gallery of Art, and the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. There is now an online catalogue by Lynn McRae published by the Stanford University Libraries.
SOLD

Connectors
Etching, 1934, Ryan 66, McRae pg. 6; edition probably 100. 12 7/8 x 9 3/4 in. Signed in pencil. This is a fine impression in excellent condition. The margins are full. This dynamic print was part of Allen's Steel Workers Series. It was inspired by the construction of Radio City Music Hall which took place from 1931 to 1932 as part of Rockefeller Center. This stellar work is found in the collections of the British Museum, the Crystal Bridges Museum of Art, the National Gallery and the Smithsonian American Art Museum, among others. "Connectors" is illustrated on the cover of the Ryan catalogue. It's illustrated in Graphic Excursions, American Prints in Black and White," by Reba and Dave Williams (1991), (entry 44). And, it's illustrated on page 115 of "The American Scene, Prints From Hopper to Pollack," by Stephen Coppel published by the British Museum (2008).
$4,500

Four Pipe Line
Lithograph, 1937, Ryan 12, edition 20. 15 x 10 5/8 in. Signed in pencil. A fine impression with substantial margins. Very good condition.
SOLD

Pipe and Brawn
Lithograph, 1938, Ryan 28, McRae pg. 22; edition 40. 11 7/8 x 14 3/8 in. Signed and numbered in pencil. This is a fine impression with full margins. The condition is excellent. Allen produced a series of twelve lithographs concerning pipe workers from 1937 to 1938. "After Allen's etchings, these are the most recognized and collected of all his works." (see MacRae pg. 18, The Prints of James E. Allen; Etchings, Lithographs, and Linocuts 1925-1945 (2002). Ryan dates this print to 1937.
$2,000

Teeming Ingots
Etching, 1935, Ryan 88, edition 100. 11 7/8 x 9 3/4 in. Signed in pencil, lower right. This is a fine impression with full margins. The condition is very good. This exemplary work was the 1935 Presentation Print of the Society of American Etchers. Allen's work is included in the British Museum's landmark show and catalogue on American printmaking, The American Scene, Prints from Hopper to Pollock (2008), by Stephen Coppel.
SOLD

The Aqueduct
Lithograph, 1937, Ryan 1, edition 40. 11 3/8 x 14 5/8 in. Signed in pencil and numbered "ed 40". This is a superb impression in fine condition. The margins are full. This is one of twelve lithographs by Allen commissioned by the United States Pipe and Foundry Company in 1937. The prints were exhibited and sold at Kennedy Galleries in New York.
$2,000

The Builders
Etching, 1932, Ryan 62, edition 100. 9 3/54 x 11 3/4 in. Signed in pencil. This is a superb impression with full margins. The condition is fine other than for a faint trace of an old tape adhesive along the top edge, verso, not evident from the front. This stellar print is illustrated in American Prize Prints of the Twentieth Century by Albert Reese (1949). It was on the cover of The Herald Tribune Magazine (9/3/33) and also on the cover of Sunday Review, Brooklyn Eagle (3/25/34). Allen shared a studio with Howard Cook in Paris and upon his return to New York, he studied with Joseph Pennell and William Auerbach-Levy.
SOLD

The Connectors
Etching, 1934, Ryan 66; edition probably 100. 12 7/8 x 9 3/4 in. Signed in pencil, lower right. Here we have a fine impression printed on a cream laid paper. The margins are full and the condition is excellent. This major work is illustrated on the cover of the catalog raisonne published by the Mary Ryan Gallery (1984). Ex-collection: James Heald. According to notes on the mat, this impression was exhibited at the Worcester Art Museum in 1990. Allen studied etching with Joseph Pennell and later shared a studio in Paris with Howard Cook. This and similar works were inspired by New York City skyscraper construction scenes.
SOLD