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Prints of Your Dreams: A Check-List for New York’s
International Fine Print Dealers Association Print Fair, November 6-9 at the Park Avenue Armory |
| New York: At the International Fine Print Dealers Association Print Fair, there are so many extraordinary examples of art that it can be a challenge just to soak it all up. From stately works by old masters to out-of-left-field creations by piping-fresh newcomers, from Japanese woodcuts to exquisite etchings, the IFPDA Print Fair is overflowing with riches to please both the in-the-know affcionado as well as the novice collector. For both categories of fair-goers (and every kind in between), prints offer a reasonable and accessible way to own works by today’s blue-chip artists, like Hirst, Diebenkorn, Thiebaud and Ruscha, as well as those of yesteryear, like Rembrandt, Dürer and Cassatt. So that no one overlooks some of the not-to-be-missed prints at the four day fair, opening November 6-9 at the Park Avenue Armory, here is a guide to some of the top must-see highlights:
Aaron Galleries (Glenview, Ill.), Booth 208
 Artist: Sam Francis (1923-1994) Alan Cristea Gallery (London), Booth 301
 Artist: Richard Long
Must-See: Piemonte Circle, 2014
Why: The first in a group of 15 new large-scale works by the British land artist, this work will be part of Long’s first solo exhibition with the gallery in February 2015. Allinson Gallery (Storrs, Conn.), Booth 118
 Artist: Martin Lewis
Must-See: Relics (Speakeasy Corner), 1928
Why: Showing the intersection of Charles and West Fourth streets in Greenwich Village, a few blocks from Lewis’s house on Bedford,
Relics sold out its entire first edition in just a few months, a spectacular achievement for a printmaker of the time. Catherine E. Burns (Oakland, Calif.), Booth 219
 Artist: Mary Cassatt (1844-1926)
Must-See: Peasant Mother and Child, 1894
Why: In this work, Cassatt successfully blended Japanese-like design and subject matter with French Realist tradition, and it is among the most important prints created at the turn of the century, further enriched by ink that Cassatt applied to the plate herself, making each print unique. Childs Gallery (Boston), Booth 308
 Artist: Rembrandt Harmensz van Rijn (Dutch, 1606-1669)
Must-See: Christ Appearing to the Apostles, 1656
Why: Of quality rarely seen on the print market, the work is almost without a doubt a lifetime impression, as evidenced by the paper’s foolscap watermark. C.G. Boerner (New York), Booth 210
 Artist: Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528)
Must-See: Knight on Horseback and the Lansquenet, ca. 1496-97
Why: Dürer’s masterful
woodcuts established his reputation and influence across Europe when he was still in his twenties, and this work is a superb example of why he reached that level of success.
David Tunick (New York), Booth 200 Artist: Andrea Mantegna (c. 1431-1506) Must-See: The Entombment with Four Birds Why: Only four or five truly early impressions by Mantegna, considered the inventor of printmaking in Italy, have come to market in the last 40 or 50 years, and this is one of them.
Diane Villani Editions (New York). Booth 209
 Artist: Fred Sandback
Must-See: Untitled (Jahn #35), 1975
Why: Strongly referencing Sandback’s string sculpture, this Linocut in blue on Japanese paper with cut edge is rather rare as it is from a small edition. Dolan Maxwell (Philadelphia), Booth 422
 Artist: Stanley William Hayter
Must-See: Combat Sousmarin, 1957
Why: The work includes an engraving and screen-print with two state proofs and the copper plate, a grouping especially appealing to curators and collectors as it conclusively bears witness to the artist’s process, technique and decision-making.
Durham Press Inc. (Durham, Pa.), Booth 303 Artist: Beatriz Milhazes Must-See: Havai (Hawaii), 2003 Why: Because the acclaimed international artist produces a small amount of work, it is difficult to purchase one of her paintings, making prints the only access point for most collectors.
Flowers Gallery (London), Booth 417
 Artist: Tom Hammick
Must-See: Getaway, 2014
Why: This work is one of four new woodcuts recently exhibited at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition in London, and it
was inspired by a shack in England’s East Sussex that reminded the artist of a summerhouse from his teenage years.
Frederick Mulder Ltd. (London), Booth 421 Artist: Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) Must-See: La Suite Vollard, 1930-1937 Why: This is an exceptionally rare complete, original-condition suite of 100 full-sheet impressions, 15 signed by the artist, on specially made Montval-laid paper with Picasso and Vollard watermarks.
Galerie St. Étienne (New York), Booth 123
 Artist: Ernst Ludwig Kirchner
Must-See: Two Women in a Boat, 1912
Why: Pulled by hand by Kirchner himself on his largest lithographic stone, this monumental print on yellow paper is one of only four known impressions and was in the collection of the artist at the time of his death. Gemini G.E.L. at Joni Moisant Weyl (New York), Booth 412
 Artist: Julie Mehretu
Must-See: Myriads, Only By Dark, 2014
Why: Challenging the technical and visual limits of both the artist and her workshop, the four panels of Myriads, Only By Dark each measure almost four feet by seven feet-an enormous scale for any print, but in particular an etching.
Harris Schrank Fine Prints (New York), Booth 210
 Artist: Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (1746-1828)
Must-See: No se puede saber por qué (One can’t tell why), ca. 1808-1814,
Why: Showing the work as Goya intended, this print is an early example of his complex etching, drypoint, and aquatint technique that foreshadowed Modernist printmaking. Helmut H. Rumbler Kunsthandel (Frankfurt), Booth 108
 Artist: Rembrandt Harmenszoon Van Rijn (1606-1669)
Must-See: The Three Trees, 1643
Why: Considered one of the most beautiful impressions ever made of a Rembrandt composition, this print stands as one of the crowning achievements in Dutch landscape etching. John Szoke (New York), Booth 309
 Artist: Pablo Picasso
Must-See: Tête de Marie-Thérèse, 1933
Why: Depicting Marie-Thérèse Walter, Picasso’s beloved mistress of the early 1930s, this print directly relates to sculptures and paintings of her that the great genius created in the early 1930s. Marlborough Graphics (New York-London), Booth 101
 Artist: Manolo Valdés
Must-See: Pamela I, 2013
Why: Using etching, silkscreen and collage techniques on handmade papers, the prints of Manolo Valdés reference masters like Rembrandt, Velázquez, Rubens and Matisse to create an intellectual twist that takes significant historical works out of their original context. Mary Ryan Gallery (New York), Booth 201
 Artist: Richard Diebenkorn (1922-1993)
Must-See: Green, 1986
Why: By far the largest print Diebenkorn ever made,
Green is considered to be his most important print and is an iconic Ocean Park image.
Mixografia (Los Angeles), Booth 317 Artist: Ed Ruscha
Must-See: Rusty Signs Series, 2014
Why: This suite of prints marks a transformation in one of Ruscha’s signature subjects, signifying the first time he is not merely representing the image of a sign, but is re-creating a sign itself. Osborne Samuel Ltd. (London), Booth 300
 Artist: C.R.W. Nevinson
Must-See: Returning to the Trenches, 1916
Why: This print was drawn on the back of part of a larger sketch for a painting of the same name, now in the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa.
Pace Prints (New York), Booth 310
 Artist: James Turell
Must-See: Suite from Aten Reign, 2014
Why: This series of new aquatint etchings are the ideal medium to represent the luminous color and subtle tonal variations that the artist achieved with his recent monumental light installation,
Aten Reign, in the Guggenheim Museum rotunda. Paragon (London), Booth 402
 Artist: Sarah Morris
Must-See: Bye Bye Brazil, 2014
Why: This portfolio of 8 digital inkjet prints appeared in a British Museum exhibition of works in the collection of Charles Booth-Clibborn, who is also a well-known collector of 18th-century German Romantic prints.
Paul Stolper Gallery (London), Booth 416 Artist: Damien Hirst Must-See: Black Dot, 2014 Why: The print is part of Hirst’s first series of spot prints with diamond dust, and they have never been exhibited before.
The Fine Art Society (London), Booth 203 Artist: Samuel Palmer (1805-1881) Must-See: The Sleeping Shepherd, circa 1854 Why: This proof belonged to George Richmond, fellow artist of Palmer, his life-long friend and one the group who called themselves the Ancients and worked with Palmer in the Kentish village of Shoreham in the 1820s.
The Old Print Shop (New York), Booth 100 Artist: Mary Cassatt (1844-1926) Must-See: The Banjo Lesson, 1894 Why: Signed in pencil on the lower right, this is one of Cassatt’s most captivating images and is a masterpiece of color printing.
Scholten Japanese Art (New York), Booth 213 Artist: Ito Shinsui (1898-1972) Must-See: Snowstorm, from the Second Series of Modern Beauties, 1932, Why: This print exemplifies the best of the shin-hanga (new prints) genre, and is a dynamic work that has been finely produced by a publisher many regard as the most important, Watanabe Shozaburo (1885-1962).
Senior and Shopmaker Gallery (New York), Booth 206 Artist: Robert Mangold Must-See: Five Color Frame, 1985 Why: This is the first woodcut the artist made, in 1985, in collaboration with master printers in Kyoto, and the image relates to multi-panel paintings Mangold was making at the time, exemplifying his interest in themes of classical architecture and geometric harmony.
Shark’s Ink (Lyons, Colo.), Booth 409 Artist: Robert Kushner Must-See: Tangerines I Why: Long associated with the Pattern and Decoration Movement and celebrated for large-scale fabric collages as well as for his work as a rule-breaking performance artist, Kushner since 1987 has used flora and fauna as a favored subject, exemplified by this work, which includes plumeria, hibiscus, coffee flowers, lemons and of course, tangerines.
Sims Reed Gallery (London), Booth 221 Artist:Wayne Thiebaud Must-See: Park Place, 1995 Why: A tour de force of color etching and aquatint, this is one of the most vibrant and largest of the artists celebrated cityscapes.
Stewart & Stewart (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.), Booth 117 Artist: Richard Bosman Must-See: Porthole 7, 2014 Why: Returning to a narrative theme close to Bosman’s heart, the sea, this work is among the artist’s first monoprints that combine digital technology and unique painting.
Susan Sheehan Gallery (New York), Booth 415 Artist: Donald Judd (1928-1994) Must-See: Untitled Between 1961 and 1963, Judd produced a series of 38 woodcuts in both cadmium red and cerulean blue, and this example crystalizes the moment in which the fully abstracted image deviates from the delineated confines of the square or rectangle and becomes a parallelogram, a shape Judd would revisit in multiple mediums during the remainder of his career.
Tandem Press (Madison, Wis.), Booth 314 Artist: Alison Saar Must-See: The Cotton Eater, 2014 Why: The artist made the highly unusual choice to print on a sugar sack quilt because it speaks of a generation of the poor that recycled the sacks once used to sell sugar, and of the dark history of sugar as a principal crop complicit in fostering slave trade in America.
Tamarind Institute (Albuquerque, N. Mex.), Booth 403 Artist: Hayal Pozanti Must-See: A Soft Machine Why: This was the first time painter Pozanti, a rising star in the art world, has created an edition of prints, which reflect her avid interest in using digital printing as a means of bringing the screen to life.
Two Palms (New York), Booth 111 Artist: Mel Bochner Must-See: It Doesn’t Get Any Better Than This, 2014 Why: The artist has long enjoyed recognition as one of the originators of Conceptual art, and this work further articulates Bochner’s fascination with the connections between written language and visual depiction.
Ursus Rare Books (New York), Booth 420 Artists: Max Ernst and Iliazd Must-See: Maximiliana, ou L’Exercice Illégal de L’Astronomie, 1964 Why: Maximiliana is not only considered to be an Ernst chef d’oeuvre in book form, but thanks to the contribution of Russian avant-garde designer Iliazd, it is also one of the outstanding illustrated books of the 20th century.
William P. Carl Fine Prints (Durham, N.C.), Booth 315 Artist: Jan Toorop (1858-1928) Must-See: Woman Looking at the Sun, 1899 Why: Toorop is the most famous Dutch artist working during the Art Nouveau period, and this superb impression is his largest drypoint.
General Information: The IFPDA’s Print Fair opens with a benefit preview for the IFPDA Foundation, at the Park Avenue Armory, Park Avenue & 67th Street, on Wednesday, November 5, from 6:30-9:00 PM. Tickets are $85 and includes a one-day pass.
The third recipient of the Richard Hamilton Acquisition Prize, sponsored by Champion & Partners, will be announced at the Opening Night Preview, on Wednesday, November 5, a benefit for its grants-making arm, the IFPDA Foundation. The Prize was established in 2012 to support museum acquisitions and awards one institution up to $10,000 for the purchase of one or more prints from any period at the Fair.
The Fair opens to the public on Thursday, November 6 -9. Hours are Thursday to Saturday, Noon to 8:00 PM and Sunday, Noon to 6:00 PM. Daily admission is $20. Group admission can be arranged through the IFPDA Office. (The IFPDA Print Fair has designated Turon Travel Inc. [turontravel.com] as its preferred U.S. travel agency. For more information, phone: 212.674.6095) or visit www.printfair.com.
As the official online listing and app for the Fair, Artsy will feature IFPDA in a dedicated microsite accessible via desktop and the Artsy iPhone app.
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