Backyards, Provincetown
White-line color woodcut, 1926 (printed 1927), Clarkson 52; edition 11. 14 x 12 in. Signed, dated and titled in pencil. This is a superb, luminous impression printed on fairly heavy Japanese paper. The colors are especially fresh. Full margins. Fine condition. This is the quintessential Provincetown print.
SOLD

Exhibition Announcement
Woodcut printed in colors, circa 1930, Shapiro/MFA 52, edition unknown. (image) 7 1/2 x 3 3/4 in. (sheet) 10 1/2 x 5 5/8 in. Initialed in the block, lower left. This is a fine impression of this very rare print. The paper is a thin Japanese and the margins are full. The condition is fine apart from a small, barely visible 1/2" tear at the top edge at left and another tiny split at the bottom. This endearing Provincetown image captures the essence of what was happening in this New England artists community during the 1920s and 1930s. The sheet was first printed (or applied by hand) with this vibrant background color and then the image and text were printed, possibly from two separate blocks. This charming print is illustrated on page one of "From Paris to Provincetown: Blanche Lazzell and the Color Woodcut (2002).
$4,500

Provincetown Studio
Woodcut, 1933, Clarkson 96, edition 45. 8 x 5 in. Signed, dated and titled in ink. A fine impression rich with contrasts. Full margins. Fine condition. (Subtle suggestions of foxing here and there but overall, a minor consideration.) Lazzell returned again and again to depictions of her studio building in Provincetown. A rare work.
SOLD

Provincetown Studio
Woodcut, 1933, Clarkson 96, edition 45. 8 x 5 in. Signed, dated and titled in ink. This is a fine impression printed on a cream Japanese paper. The margins are full. The condition is fine apart from slight, subtle wrinkling here in there in the margins only; this from the printing process. In addition, There are a few additional black highlights added by the artist on the right side to enhance the richness of the color. Lazzell did a related color woodcut of this same view of her studio in 1931.
SOLD

Sunflowers
Gouache on paper mounted to a gray support sheet, probably 1928, 6 x 6 in. Unsigned. This rare rug design from the Ralph Pearson estate is in fine condition. Lazzell worked with the Ralph Pearson Design Workshop in New York along with other artists including: George Biddle, John Storrs, Thomas Hart Benton, Mary Tannahill and others. They produced modernist designs for hooked rugs and the rugs were made in Maine by artisans and sold in New York by Pearson. The rug for this design was made in 1928 and at least one is known to exist today. (See page 103 of Blanche Lazzell, The Life and Work of an American Modernist (2004), by Robert Bridges, et al.) The design in numbered on the support sheet "# 133-Blanche Lazzell-Yellow Roses" with the number 133 referring to the number of the rug design which customers could choose from. The title listed does not agree with the subject illustrated and we consider this an error. This design also relates to the woodblock print "The Blue Jug." Lazzell was actively involved with promoting her rugs and exhibited them in her studio. "Through the hooked rug project with Pearson, Lazzell participated in advanced modern design in America, with its intention to blur the distinction between fine art and decorative art." (Bridges, pg. 106) Ralph Pearson (1883-1958) was a gifted etcher, writer and arts advocate who spent time living and working in New Mexico, California, Chicago and New York.
SOLD