Landscape with Figures
BENTON SPRUANCE
American, (1904-1962)
Lithograph, 1940, Fine/Looney 179, edition 30. 10 x 13 3/8 in. Signed and dated on the stone (literally) lower right. Signed, titled and numbered in pencil. This is a fine impression of this beautifully drawn print. The margins are full and the condition is fine. (There's a slight bit of toning along the lower edge of the sheet and a subtle streak (pencil?) in the upper left corner margin, well away from the image.) This somewhat divergent subject by Spruance reminds us of the regionalist tradition of Benton, Wood and others.
$2,500

Approach to the Station
BENTON SPRUANCE
American, (1904-1962)
Lithograph, 1932, Fine/Looney 70, edition 28. 10 7/8 x 13 3/4 in. Initialed on the stone, lower right. Signed, titled, numbered and next to that, "imp. Theo Cuno." This is a superb impression in fine condition with full margins. George Bellows was a major inspiration for Spruance throughout his career, most notably in the early work from the 1930s and 1940s.
SOLD

Cat and Busybody
BENTON SPRUANCE
American, (1904-1962)
Lithograph, 1933, Fine/Looney 85, edition 33. 11 x 13 3/8 in. Initialed and dated on the stone, lower right. Signed, numbered and titled in pencil. This is a fine impression of this uncommon print. The margins are full. The condition is fine apart from some handling creases in the wide margins and stray printers ink in upper right margin.
$2,800

Dulcimer and Discord
BERNARD STEFFEN
American, (1907-1980)
Lithograph, 1939, edition unknown. 11 5/8 x 9 3/8 in. Signed, dated and titled in pencil. Here we have a fine impression of this extremely rare print. The margins are wide and the condition is fine. the paper is watermarked RIVES. Steffen was a WPA artist and studied with Thomas Hart Benton at the Kansas City Art Institute. He was a founding member of the of the American Artists Congress, an association established in 1935 to encourage government support for artist's unions and to promote social realism in American art. Sadly, in 1977, Steffen's studio was destroyed by a fire and he lost "thousands" of paintings and prints. (See David Acton, "A Spectrum of Innovation, Color in American Printmaking," (1990), page 286.)
SOLD

Forest of Flame
HARRY STERNBERG
American, (1904-2001)
Lithograph, 1939, Moore 158, Warner 56; edition unknown. 12 1/2 x 16 1/2 in. Signed on the stone, lower right. Signed and titled in pencil. This is a fine impression with wide margins. The condition is excellent apart from a small, very faint spot of toning in the margin above the second smokestack on the left. This exemplary print from the period is illustrated and discussed in Graphic Excursions, American Prints in Black and White, 1900-1930, Selections from the Collection of Reba and Dave Williams (1991), entry 81. Impressions are located in the Art Institute of Chicago and the National Gallery of Art, among other institutions.
SOLD

Blast Furnace #1
HARRY STERNBERG
American, (1904-2001)
Etching and aquatint, 1937, Moore 147, AAA 828; edition 250. 11 3/4 x 8 3/8 in. Signed in pencil. This is a superb impression with full margins. The condition is fine. Sternberg produced another such image in lithography which is in the opposite direction of this one (see Blast Furnace 2.) This print was not published by AAA until 1946. It was included in American Prize Prints of the 20th Century by Albert Reese (see page 194).
$1,400

The Bridge, Sunday
PRENTISS TAYLOR
American, (1907-1991)
Lithograph, 1952, Rose/Quiroz 82, edition 25. 12 x 16 3/4 in. Initialed and dated in the plate, lower left. Signed, dated, numbered and titled in pencil. This is a fine impression with full margins. The condition is very good apart from two old paper tape hinges at the top and a small stain in the lower margin well below the image. This is one of his best known prints and is located in the Boston Public Library, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Library of Congress, the National Gallery of Art and the Smithsonian American Art Museum, among others.
$1,600

Along the Ohio
FLOYD LESLIE THOMPSON
American, (1889-1965)
Etching and aquatint printed in colors, circa 1940, edition unknown but certainly less than 100. 11 7/8 x 14 7/8 in. Signed and titled in pencil. "Imp." follows his name which means the artist printed the work himself. Thompson was a Chicago artist who specialized is color intaglio printmaking and his subjects are generally landscapes. He is quite skilled but not that well known.
SOLD

Abraham
DOX THRASH
African American, (1893-1965)
Drypoint with etching, circa 1937, Ittmann 15, edition unknown. 5 x 3 15/16 in. Signed and titled in pencil. This is a superb, rich impression of this very rare print. The margins are full and the condition is fine. (There's a faint residue of an old adhesive along the top edge of the sheet, verso.) This early, Rembrantesque portrait includes the label of the Pennsylvania WPA program. This is the first version of Abraham and the second version, (Ittmann 72), was a carborundum mezzotint and etching. Thrash joined the WPA Federal Art Project in 1937 and he began working at the Fine Print Workshop of Philadelphia. In 2001, the artist was honored with a major retrospective at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
SOLD

Picket Line
HERMAN VOLZ
American, (1904-1990)
Lithograph, 1938, edition 40. 10 1/2 x 13 3/4 in. Signed on the stone, lower right. Signed in pencil and inscribed "artist proof." This is a fine impression with full margins. The condition is fine apart from a tiny pinhole near the "proof" inscription. Volz was born in Zurich and came to the US in 1933. He was living in the San Francisco Bay area and became a citizen in 1938. This stellar print was done along the San Francisco docks and impressions are located at the Crystal Bridges Museum of Art and the National Gallery of Art.
$1,000

Brothel Scene
LYND WARD
American, (1905-1985)
Wood engraving, 1929, edition unknown. 5 1/2 x 3 3/4 in. Signed in pencil. This is a fine impression printed on thin Japanese paper. The margins are full and the condition is very good other than for two soft creases in the lower right corner; one touching the image. This engaging print is an illustration for Madman's Drum, one of Ward's novels without words, this one published in 1930.
SOLD

Beach Scene (Coney Island)
HYMAN WARSAGER
American, (b. 1909)
Screenprint, circa 1940, edition probably about 25-50. 14 x 20 in. Signed and titled in pencil. This is a very good impression in good condition. The margins are full. There's a suggestion of toning within an earlier mat opening, a few small stains in the upper right margin corner well away from the image and a couple of printing wrinkles which are not really that noticeable. Warsager was an active member of the New York City WPA Graphics Arts division. He worked closely with Anthony Velonis in developing the silkscreen process as a fine arts medium. This is a large print and a great subject for the period. An impression is in the Art Institute of Chicago collection with the title, Beach Scene at Seagate.
$1,400

The Big Tree
ERNEST W. WATSON
American, (1884-1969)
Linoleum cut printed in colors, undated (probably done in the 1930s), edition 25. 7 x 10 in. Signed, titled and numbered in pencil. This is a fine impression printed on fibrous Japanese paper. The margins are full. The condition is good apart from faint toning in the outer margins from an old mat and a tin spot at the top edge center from an early hinge.
SOLD

Large Primitive Head in Profile
MAX WEBER
American, (1881-1961)
Linocut printed with unique color inking, 1920-21, Rubenstein 33, edition unknown. 7 3/4 x 3 3/8 in. Signed in pencil, lower right. This is a superb, uniquely colored impression printed on thin Japanese paper. The margins appear to be full and there's a number "32" in pencil in the lower left corner. The condition is fine. There are three impressions of this image in the National Gallery; two in brown ink and another is a color variation from the Rosenwald Collection. Weber studied with Arthur W. Dow at the Pratt Institute early on and later in Paris with Matisse. He was impressed with the work of Cezanne. Weber was friendly with William Zorach from their Greenwich Village days and could have been influenced by his printmaking technique. This is an exceptional and rare example of Weber's color woodcut style.
SOLD

The Bridge and the Storm, Mackinaw Straits
REYNOLD WEIDENAAR
American, (1915-1985)
Mezzotint, 1957, Buckner p.119, no. 159; edition 100. 16 7/8 x 12 7/8 in. Signed in the plate, lower right. Signed and titled in pencil. This is a superb impression with full margins. The condition is fine apart from exceedingly faint toning within an early mat opening. This engineering marvel is the fourth longest suspension bridge in the world. It connects the upper and lower peninsulas of the state of Michigan. This the artist's finest print and a tour de force of mezzotint. Impressions are located in the National Gallery, the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, among many others. (A retrospective was held at the Grand Rapids Art Museum in 2015.)
SOLD

Locomotive Shops
REYNOLD WEIDENAAR
American, (1915-1985)
Etching and aquatint, 1947, Buckner 101, edition 75 plus nine trial proofs. 12 7/8 x 16 3/4 in. Initialed and dated in the plate, lower left. Signed, numbered and titled in pencil. This is a superb, luminous impression printed in rich black ink. The margins are full and the condition is very good apart from slight light discoloration within an earlier mat opening. This masterpiece of etching took the artist about six months to complete and he spent a week making sketches at the locomotive shop which inspired the print. The time he spent making the plate is dated in the upper left corner of the image. This uncommon print is illustrated on the cover of the catalogue raisonné.
$4,200

Picnic
STOW WENGENROTH
American, (1906-1977)
Lithograph, 1938, Stuckey 81, edition 50. 12 1/8 x 15 5/8 in. Signed and numbered in pencil. This is a fine impression with full margins. The condition is fine apart from a modest handling wrinkle in the top margin away from the image and a tiny smudge on the right margin, upper right. This charming early work was done in Port Clyde, Maine.
$650

Day's End
STOW WENGENROTH
American, (1906-1977)
Lithograph, 1937, Stuckey 69, edition 30. 7 3/8 x 13 in. Signed and numbered in pencil. This is a fine impression with full margins. The condition is very good. (There's some rippling along the top margin.) This print was done at Boothbay Harbor, Maine.
$900

Fog from the Sea
STOW WENGENROTH
American, (1906-1977)
Lithograph, 1951, Stuckey 193, edition 50. 10 3/8 x 15 7/8 in. Signed, numbered and titled below in pencil. Here we have a superb, atmospheric impression with full margins. The condition is excellent. The location of this print is Ogunquit, ME.
SOLD

Forest Shade
STOW WENGENROTH
American, (1906-1977)
Lithograph, 1945, Stuckey 149, edition 75. 11 1/4 x 16 1/2 in. Signed and numbered in pencil. This is a fine impression of this lovely print. The margins are wide and the condition is fine. This print was done in Port Clyde, ME. Notice the two deer lurking in the shadows near the center.
$1,500