The Tournament
GEORGE BELLOWS
American, (1882-1925)
Lithograph, 1920, Mason 72, edition 63. 14 7/8 x 18 1/4 in. Signed on the stone, lower left. Signed, titled and numbered in pencil. Signed in pencil by the printer, Bolton Brown. This is a fine impression with wide and probably the full margins. The condition is very good apart from slight discoloration in the margins an a few subtle wrinkles to the chine appliqué. This is the better of the two tennis prints Bellows created in 1920, both depicting tennis scenes in Newport, RI. (He and his family spent two summers in Middletown, RI.) There's an oil painting which relates to this stellar lithographic image.
$9,500

Sunday Morning
THOMAS HART BENTON
American, (1889-1975)
Lithograph, 1939, Fath 26, edition 250. 9 5/8 x 12 5/8 in. Signed on the stone, lower left. Signed in pencil. Here we have a superb impression printed on RIVES watermarked paper. The margins are untrimmed apart from a minor paper loss(?)to the lower left edge of the sheet. (This is quite possibly the full sheet as printed.) This beautiful print was based on a drawing done in 1938.
$4,000

The Seed
JOHN BIGGERS
African American, (1924-2001)
Lithograph, 1983, edition 100. 17 1/8 x 23 in. Signed, dated, titled and numbered in pencil. This is a fine impression printed on ARCHES watermarked paper. The margins are full with a deckle edge on all four sides. The condition is fine apart from a very small stain in the upper margin, center, and an old adhesive along the top edge of the sheet, verso. Biggers studied at the Hampton Institute with Elizabeth Catlett and Charles White. He also got to know Hale Woodruff around this time. After serving in the Navy during WWII, he studied at Penn State and with a masters and PhD in hand, he moved to Houston where he served as founder and chairman of Texas State (now Texas Southern) University's art department. He was there until 1983, the year of this print. Biggers was one of the first African American artists to visit Africa and he did so with a UNESCO fellowship to study West African cultural traditions. His worked was heavily influenced by his visits to Africa as he returned several times. In addition to his prints and drawings, Biggers was a gifted painter and his murals are found primarily in the Houston area. In fact, the Houston Museum of Fine Arts hosted a major retrospective of the artist's work in 1995 which traveled to several cities. This large, dynamic lithograph is beautifully drawn and the influence of his many trips to Africa is clearly evident.
$6,500

There Were Not Found Women Fair as the Daughters of Job
WILLIAM BLAKE
British, (1757-1827)
Engraving, 1825, Bindman 645; edition 215. 8 5/8 x 6 3/4 in. Signed in the plate, lower right. This is a fine impression printed on chine appliqué. The margins are apparently full and the condition is good. (There are some extremely subtle spots of foxing and two soft fold marks in the upper and right outside margins. The chine is wrinkled a bit primarily on two edges of the sheet.) This is plate 20 from Blake's celebrated Book of Job published by the artist and John Linnell in London. This set of engravings was originally published in 3 versions; 150 copies on white india chine appliqué with the word "proof" (as here), 65 copies on French paper also with "proof," and 100 on Whatman watermarked paper with the word "proof" erased. John Linnell retained the plates and a second edition of 100 was printed in 1874 after the death of the artist in 1827. Blake's engravings were based on a series of watercolors done between 1805 and 1806 for his patron, Thomas Butts.
$3,800

Strandvägen, Stockholm
MUIRHEAD BONE
Scottish, (1876-1953)
Drypoint, 1923, Dodgson 407 (v/V); edition 34. 7 7/8 x 9 3/4 in. Signed in the plate, lower left. Signed in pencil. This is a superb impression printed with plate tone. The paper is an antique laid and the margins are full. The condition is very good. (There's a tiny speck of printer's ink in the sky at the right. and two small repaired tears in the upper right margin.) Strandvägen, as pictured in the distance, is one of the most elegant boulevards in Stockholm. This is a rare print.
$1,200

Leyden (Leiden)
MUIRHEAD BONE
Scottish, (1876-1953)
Drypoint, 1913, Dodgson 314; 1 trial proof and 25 published impressions. 8 7/8 x 11 1/2 in. Signed in pencil. This is a superb, luminous impression with full margins. The condition is excellent. This masterfully drawn subject depicts the Marekerk Church located at the Lange Mare and the Oude Vest canal.
$1,200

Piccadilly Circus, 1915
MUIRHEAD BONE
Scottish, (1876-1953)
Drypoint, 1915, Dodgson 332 (vi/VI); 105 impressions in this state. 11 3/4 x 14 7/8 in. Signed in pencil. This is a superb, dramatic impression printed on white Japanese paper. The margins are wide and probably full. The condition overall is fine. (There's a very subtle suggestion of an old adhesive along the extreme edges of the margins, verso, from an early mount.) This outstanding London wartime scene relates to a drawing now in the Fleming-Wyfold Art Foundation. A proof was exhibited at the 8th Exhibition of the Society of Twelve, 1915, and the proceeds of sales were given by the artist to the Belgian Relief Fund. (There were three trial proofs in the first state and 145 impressions in states II-VI).
$3,500

Constantinople
MUIRHEAD BONE
Scottish, (1876-1953)
Drypoint, 1934, Dodgson 454 (ix/IX); edition 88 in this state. 6 x 11 7/8 in. Signed in the plate, lower left. Signed and titled in pencil. Here we have a fine, rich impression printed on a light cream japanese style wove paper. The margins are full and the condition is excellent. There was a total of 97(96?) proofs over nine states.
$600

Leeds Warehouses
MUIRHEAD BONE
Scottish, (1876-1953)
Drypoint, 1905, Dodgson 182 (ii/II); edition 40. 6 x 8 in. Signed in pencil. This is a superb impression printed on Japanese paper. The margins are full and the condition is fine apart from soft wrinkles along the bottom edge in the margin. There were about twenty impressions in this state and a total of forty over three states.
$800

Demolition of the Sardinian Chapel, Kingsway, London, No.2
MUIRHEAD BONE
Scottish, (1876-1953)
Drypoint, 1915, Dodgson 348, small edition. 7 7/8 x 9 3/4 in. Signed in pencil. This is a superb impression with full margins. The paper is a cream Japanese and the condition is fine apart from soft waviness to the sheet in the sky area. The Sardinian Chapel was an important Roman Catholic Church which was demolished in 1909 to make way for Kingsway. The Church was rebuilt at a different location fronting Kingsway. This is is the Lincoln's Inn area of London.
$800

Young Woman in Black Stockings (Jeune Femme aux bas Noirs)
PIERRE BONNARD
French, (1867-1947)
Lithograph, 1893, Bouvet 27, edition 100. 11 1/2 x 5 in. Signed in the image with the artist's printed monogram, lower right. Signed and numbered in pencil. This is a fine impression with wide margins. The condition is fine apart from faint traces of an old adhesive near the center of the very top of the sheet and minor rippling along the bottom edge, all well away from the image. This vibrant Nabis style print was reproduced in "L'Escarmouche," No.2, January 14, 1894. (There were twenty additional impressions on Japanese paper.) This print also goes by the title, "Dans l'intimité," ('In Private') and is illustrated and discussed on pages 152-153 of Pierre Bonnard, The Graphic Art (1989) by Colta Ives.
$3,000

The Cabstand (Une Matinée d'Hiver au Quai de l'Hôtel-Dieu)
FELIX BUHOT
French, (1847-1898)
Etching, drypoint and traces of roulette, 1876, Bourcard-Goodfriend 123 (xiii/XV), edition unknown. 9 1/4 x 12 5/8 in. Signed and dated in the plate, lower left. Signed with the red stamp on the edge of the image lower left (Lugt 977). This is a superb, luminous impression of this rare state. There are inky plate edges in areas which suggest the proof-like nature of this impression. The margins are full and the condition is excellent. This is described by Goodfriend as the "final published state of the print." The etched writing along the bottom edge reads "Une Matinée d'Hiver au Quai de l'Hôtel Dieu," and on the right side, "2em Etat de Publication..." This state was unknown to Bourcard. This is certainly one of Buhot's finest prints shown here in an exemplary impression.
$5,000

Children reading (Literacy), Ninas Leyendos
ELIZABETH CATLETT
American, (1915-2012)
Lithograph, 1950, edition 30. 11 7/8 x 16 3/8 in. Initialed on the stone, lower left. Signed, dated and numbered in pencil. This is a fine impression with full margins. The condition is excellent. This beautiful print shows the influence of the Mexican printmakers of the time including Siquieros. Catlett began working at the Taller de Gráfica Popular in Mexico in 1946 and was active there until 1966. She married Francisco Mora (after divorcing Charles W. White) and became a Mexican citizen. She was friendly with Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo. As seen here, Catlett embraced thoughtful and beautifully drawn subjects, producing portraits of black women and children as well as the Hispanic and Indian populations at her Mexican home. Previously, Catlett studied at Howard University and one of her teachers was Lois M. Jones. She later enrolled in the graduate program of the University of Iowa and was attracted to the work of Grant Wood who taught there and she studied drawing and painting with him. "Children Reading" is an uncommon print from a relatively small edition.
SOLD

Taxco Market
HOWARD COOK
American, (1901-1980)
Aquatint and etching, 1932-33, Duffy 181, edition 30. 8 7/8 x 11 7/8 in. Signed in pencil and printed by the artist ("imp."). This is a fine impression of this uncommon print. The margins appear to be full and the condition is fine apart from a slight suggestion of light toning within an earlier mat opening. Cook was awarded one of his two Guggenheim fellowships in 1932 and he moved to Taxco, Mexico, where he produced several prints. This is an exemplary work by the artist.
$7,000

Fishing Boats, Setting Sun (Barques de pêche, soleil couchant)
CHARLES COTTET
French, (1863-1925)
Etching, drypoint and roulette printed in dark blue, 1905, Morane 7; edition 50 in this color. 15 1/2 x 19 1/2 in. Signed and numbered in pencil. This is a superb impression printed on ARCHES watermarked paper. The margins are wide and probably full. The condition is fine. The blindstamp of the publisher, Galerie Georges Petit, ed. (Lugt 2022) is in the lower left corner margin. Cottet lived and worked in Brittany and often produced dark seascapes of Breton harbors. He was close friends with Charles Maurin and Félix Vallotton and he was a leader of a small group of artists called "le Bande Noir." There were additional impressions from this plate printed in brown and black.)
ON HOLD

Nature Study
ANNA JULIE DE GRAAG
Dutch, (1877-1924)
Woodcut printed in colors, 1917, edition unknown. 7 1/8 x 5 3/8 in. Initialed and dated in the plate. Signed in pencil. this is a fine impression printed on gray laid paper. The margins are wide and the condition is fine apart from slight toning within an earlier mat opening. This print was published by Cornelius de Lorm and their stamp is on the verso.
SOLD

The Orchard (Le Verger)
JAMES ENSOR
Belgian, (1860-1949)
Etching, 1886, Taevernier 2 (iii/III), Croquez 2, Delteil 2; edition unknown. 9 1/4 x 6 1/2 in. Signed and dated in the plate, lower right. Signed and dated (1888) in pencil. This is a fine impression printed on Japan paper with plate tone. The margins are probably full. The condition is very good apart from toning along the extreme right edge of the sheet and traces of an old adhesive at the upper left and right corners from early hinges. There's an unidentified collector's mark on the verso. This is a proof impression before publication in the 1901 album of the Royal Society of Belgian Etchers. This engaging landscape is Ensor's second recorded etching.
$3,000

Skeltons Seeking to Warm Themselves (Squelettes Voulant se Chauffer)
JAMES ENSOR
Belgian, (1860-1949)
Etching, 1886, Taevernier 98 (ii/II), Croquez 98, Delteil 98; edition unknown. 5 1/2 x 4 in. Signed and dated in the plate, lower right. Signed dated and titled in pencil. (The verso is also countersigned in pencil across the sheet and titled in pencil along the bottom edge.) This is a superb, luminous impression on Japan paper, printed with plate tone. The margins appear to be full and uncut. (There are two small, previous hinges on the right edge, verso, not affecting the front.) This exemplary and memorable print relates closely to to oil painting now in the Kimbell Art Museum on Forth Worth Texas. It's considered on of his masterpieces. "Understood as a scene in an artist's studio, "Skeletons Trying to Warm Themselves" resembles a vignette from the popular medieval and early Renaissance print cycles of the Dance of Death..." (See the description of the painting found on the website of the Kimbell.)
$13,500

Progress
WANDA GAG
American, (1893-1946)
Lithograph, 1936, Winnan 110 (ii/II); edition 50. 8 1/8 x 11 3/4 in. Signed and dated in pencil. Here we have a superb impression with full margins. (The paper bears a RIVES watermark.) The condition is fine apart from two small tan paper hinges at the top corners, recto. Fifteen impressions are cited in museum collections. This print is somewhat unique for Gag and it shows the rise of a more urban America with advertising billboards and other assorted signs. So many of her prints are rural in nature depicting landscapes, country homes, flowers and intimate home settings. This memorable image is certainly meant to be a social commentary on Gag's part.
$3,500

Rain Tomorrow
FRANCES GEARHART
American, (1869-1959)
Block print printed in colors, circa 1930-31, edition probably 30-50. 10 1/8 x 11 in. Signed and titled in pencil. This is a superb, luminous impression with full margins. The condition is excellent. This gorgeous print is illustrated on page 64 of Frances H. Gearhart; Color Block Prints in Wichita 1922-1937 (2019) by Roger Genser.
$9,000