Builders of Bablyon
Etching and aquatint, 1937(?), AAA 1950.1113, edition 250. 14 1/4 x 11 in. Signed in pencil, lower right. Here we have a superb, luminous impression with wide margins. The condition is outstanding. This is a memorable and beautifully crafted image from the mid 20th century. This work, along with "Men of Steel," and "Man's Canyons", are his three finest prints. A native of Brooklyn, Margolies studied in New York at the Cooper Union Art School and the National Academy of Design. During the Great Depression of the 1930s, when many artists made prints in an effort to reach a wider audience through low-priced multiple artworks, Margolies turned seriously to etching. Working in a range of intaglio (or incised printmaking) techniques, he became a master of the tonal medium of aquatint. In 1935 Margolies joined the Federal Art Project of the Works Progress Administration (WPA), a Depression-era government relief program, and he served as an instructor in its Art Teaching Division.
SOLD