Harris Schrank Fine Prints
New York, New York
New York, New York
Howard Cook, Martin Lewis, Reginald Marsh, and John Sloan
New York City has always been a mecca for artists, and an inspiration for printmaking. This sampling of city views, mostly made in the early 1930's, shows the affection artists had for the city – even in precarious times.
Image Credit:
Reginald Marsh - Tatoo-Shave-Haircut (detail)
The whole city is alive; buildings are alive, people are alive; and the more they move me the more I feel them to be alive. And so I try to express graphically what a great city is doing...these warring, pushing, pulling forces.
John Marin
Paul Cadmus - Stewarts (Greenwich Village) (detail)
John Sloan - Hell Hole (detail)
Fritz Eichenberg - Subway (detail)
John Marin (1870-1953) – An acolyte of James Whistler, Marin practiced printmaking in Europe at the turn of the century, but on returning to the U.S. he became on the early American Modernists.
Howard Cook (1901-1980) - By the early 1930s, Cook’s prints of New York, especially its skyscrapers and bridges, were widely known and often reproduced in such magazines as Harpers and The Atlantic Monthly. The first solo exhibition of his prints was held in 1929 at the Weyhe Gallery in New York.
Reginald Marsh (1898-1954) – Marsh, one of the great American artists of the post WWI-Depression era, was quoted as saying in response to a question about the size of his editions: “Since I do practically all my own printing, I do not limit the edition. The buyer limits the edition – he rarely buys, I rarely print."
John Sloan (1871-1951) – An eminent member of the famed Ashcan School of early 20th Century American artists, Sloan achieved printmaking fame with his early series of New York City prints.
Martin Lewis (1881-1962) – Born in Australia, he received his only formal art training in Sydney. In 1900 he came to the US, first to San Francisco, but eventually to New York, where he achieved printmaking fame for his city views, as well as his poignant impressions of rural Connecticut.