Lot 340
Leonard Baskin (American, 1922-2000). "Goethe" wood engraving, edition 52 of 100 - signature and edition number in pencil beneath plate mark, also signed in plate - AND - "Walt Whitman" wood engraving - signature in pencil at lower right, n.d. Two portraits by Leonard Baskin, one depicting the American poet Walt Whitman (1819-1892) and the other depicting the German poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832). Baskin captured these legendary literary figures with striking intimacy as well as an air of mystery. Goethe is rendered bust-length and in profile, donning a wide brimmed hat and scarf, with his initials below. Whitman is nearly full-length, albeit cut off just below the knees, donning a 3-piece suit, standing with hands in his pockets, and with a visage that is intriguingly simultaneously front facing and in profile. A magnificent pair of prints by Baskin rendered with his penchant for portraying his subjects with a palpable sense of immediacy. Size (sight view of Whitman): 15.8" L x 6" W (40.1 cm x 15.2 cm) Size (frame of Whitman: 22.75" L x 12.375" W (57.8 cm x 31.4 cm)
Leonard Baskin was a 20th century "Renaissance Man" - a highly respected sculptor, printmaker, writer, and watercolorist. His prints included mythological, classical, and biblical scenes as well as portraits and floral studies. Baskin studied at Yale University from 1941 to 1943 and received his B.A. at the New School for Social Research in 1949. He also founded Gehenna Press which specialized in fine book production and taught printmaking and sculpture at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts as well as Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts from 1953 until 1974. Baskin's artworks are in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Museum of Modern Art, the Vatican Museum, the Smithsonian Institute, the Tate Gallery in London, and other elite institutions. His noted public sculptural commissions include pieces for the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial as well as the Holocaust Memorial in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Baskin also received many prestigious honors, such as a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Gold Medal of the National Academy of Arts and Letters, and the Jewish Cultural Achievement Award. He was also honored with numerous retrospective exhibitions at institutions including the Smithsonian Museum, the Albertina Museum, and the Library of Congress.
Provenance: ex-private Bishop Family Trust collection, the Trust of the late Bill Bishop, a noted antiquarian with shops in Scottsdale, Arizona and Allenspark, Colorado, USA, acquired before 2010
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#175947
- Condition: Both prints are mounted in custom frames under glass and have not been examined outside the frames. Whitman is hand signed in pencil on lower right. Image is strong. Minor toning and crease marks to the paper. Only slight scuffs to frame. Fit with suspension wire. Goethe is signed in pencil at lower right; edition number 52/100 is written in pencil at lower left. Also signed in plate. Image is vivid and has a strong plate mark. Minor scuffs to frame. Fit with suspension wire.
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