Arrival
Power tool drypoint and burin engraving, 1955, edition 10. 13 3/8 x 19 3/8 in. Signed, dated, titled and numbered with the added inscription, "épreuve d'artiste." This is a superb impression of this stellar work. The margins are full and the condition is fine. (There's a small tear on the left margin well away from the image.) "During the Second World War, Bernard Childs worked as a machinist in a factory. He later applied this experience to his art, engraving metal plates with power drills and rotary burrs instead of more precise, traditional tools such as burins and drypoint needles. The rapid but controlled play of electric tools across the surface of the plate is evident in this print. Lines of various textures and densities move rhythmically toward the center of the composition, where they converge in a whirling mass. By adapting industrial tools to the printmaking medium, Childs was able to create effects and line qualities new to intaglio." (The above quote is from the Yale University website explaining this print which is in their collection.) Arrival is also in the collection of the V & A Museum in London, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco.
$3,500