1930s Figurative Prints

Kawase Hasui, 'Snow at Mukōjima (Yuki no Mukōjima)', woodblock print, 1931. A particularly fine impression, distinguished by its rich, saturated blues, subtle atmospheric gradations,...

Kawase Hasui, 'Evening Snow, Edogawa River, woodblock print, 1932. A particularly fine impression, distinguished by its saturated blues, delicate atmospheric gradations, and exceptio...

Clare Leighton, 'Washing Clothes, Corsica, 1934, wood engraving, edition 60, Boston Public Library 258. Signed, titled, and numbered '20/60' in pencil. A superb, richly-inked impress...

Femme pour XXe Siecle (Dupin 40) by Joan Miro, Spanish (1893 - 1983) Date: 1938 Medium: Linocut, signed in the plate Edition: 1200 Size: 12 x 9.25 in. (30.48 x 23.5 cm) Frame Size: 2...

After Gustav Klimt, Max Eisler Plate #11, Aus den Bilde “Die Jurisprudenz”; brown-toned monochrome collotype after the 1900-07 painting in oil on canvas. The original was destroyed b...

Le Vêtement "Superchic" — Timeless French Haute Couture Elegance Step into the refined world of 1930s French menswear with this exceptional original vintage fashion poster, "Le Vête...

Jacques La Grange, 'The Yankee', color woodcut, edition 500, 1934. Signed and numbered '25/500' in pencil. A fine impression, with fresh colors, on cream wove paper, with margins (1 1/8 to 1 1/4 inches), in excellent condition. A work from La Grange’s celebrated series of woodcuts 'Drama and Color in the America's Cup Races'. Image size 10 x 10 11/16 inches (254 x 271 mm); sheet size 12 1/4 x 13 1/4 inches (311 x 337 mm). Archivally matted to museum standards, unframed. When the artist created this print in 1934, the 'Yankee' was one of the most promising yachts eligible for the America's Cup but ultimately 'Rainbow' was chosen to defend against England's 'Endeavor' in that year's race. The 'Endeavor' was built for Thomas Sopwith who used his aviation design expertise to ensure the yacht was the most advanced of its day with a steel hull and mast. She was launched in 1934 and won many races in her first season but the Cup challenge was blighted by a strike of Sopwith's professional crew prior to departing for America. Forced to rely mainly on keen amateurs, who lacked the necessary experience, the campaign failed. 'Rainbow' won the series 4–2. This was one of the most contentious of the America's Cup battles and prompted the headline "Britannia rules the waves and America waives the rules." ABOUT THE ARTIST Jacques La Grange was born in Clanwilliam (near Cape Town) in South Africa in 1895. He studied at London University and later immigrated to the United States. La Grange established himself as a painter, illustrator, and printmaker specializing in nautical subjects. He and his wife, Helen La Grange, published 'Drama and Color in the America's Cup Races' in 1934 and 'Clipper Ships of America and Great Britain 1833-1869', in 1936. Both were deluxe hardcover limited edition volumes with signed original color woodblock prints. La Grange had solo exhibitions at the Buchanan Gallery in 1929; the Babcock Gallery and the 56th Street Gallery, New York, in 1930; and at the Nicholas Roerich...

Charles Turzak, 'Loop Alley (Chicago)', color woodcut, edition c. 25, c. 1935. Signed and titled in pencil. A fine, richly-inked impression, with fresh colors, on cream wove Japan pa...

Howard Cook, 'Financial District', lithograph, 1931, edition 75, Duffy 155. A fine, richly-inked impression, on cream wove paper, the full sheet with wide margins (2 3/4 to 5 5/8 inches), in excellent condition. Image size 13 5/16 x 10 3/8 inches (338 x 264 mm); sheet size 23 x 16 inches (584 x 406 mm). Matted to museum standards, unframed. Literature: 'American Master Prints from the Betty and Douglas Duffy Collection', the Trust for Museum Exhibitions, Washington, D.C., 1987. Collections: Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Library of Congress, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Smithsonian American Art Museum. ABOUT THE ARTIST Howard Norton Cook (1901-1980) was one of the best-known of the second generation of artists who moved to Taos. A native of Massachusetts, he studied at the Art Students League in New York City and at the Woodstock Art Colony. Beginning his association with Taos in 1926, he became a resident of the community in the 1930s. During his career, he received two Guggenheim Fellowships and was elected an Academician in the National Academy of Design. He earned a national reputation as a painter, muralist, and printmaker. Cook’s work in the print mediums received acclaim early in his career with one-person exhibitions at the Denver Art Museum (1927) and the Museum of New Mexico (1928). He received numerous honors and awards over the years, including selection in best-of-the-year exhibitions sponsored by the American Institute of Graphics Arts, the Brooklyn Museum, the Society of American Etchers, and the Philadelphia Print Club. His first Guggenheim Fellowship took him to Taxco, Mexico in 1932 and 1933; his second in the following year enabled him to travel through the American South and Southwest. Cook painted murals for the Public Works of Art Project in 1933 and the Treasury Departments Art Program in 1935. The latter project, completed in Pittsburgh, received a Gold Medal from the Architectural League of New York. One of his most acclaimed commissions was a mural in the San Antonio Post Office in 1937. He and Barbara Latham settled in Talpa, south of Taos, in 1938 and remained there for over three decades. Cook volunteered in World War II as an Artist War Correspondent for the US Navy, where he was deployed in the Pacific. In 1943 he was appointed Leader of a War Art Unit...

Nicholas Panesis, 'Negro', 1934, color lithograph, edition 18. Signed, dated, titled, and numbered 8/28 in pencil. Initialed in the stone, lower right. A fine impression, with fresh colors, on buff wove paper, with margins (1 1/8 to 2 3/8 inches). Minor glue staining at the extreme sheet edges verso, where previously taped (not visible recto), otherwise in excellent condition. Matted to museum standards, unframed. Very scarce. Image size 10 5/8 x 8 1/2 inches; (270 x 216 mm); sheet size 14 13/16 x 10 15/16 inches (376 x 278 mm). Created for the California Works Progress Administration, Federal Art Project (WPA). Impressions of this work are held in the public collections of La Salle University Art Museum (Philadelphia), U.S. General Services Administration, and the Weisman Art Museum (University of Minnesota). ABOUT THE ARTIST Nicholas Panesis (1913–1967) was an American painter, printmaker, ceramicist, and illustrator whose lithographs of the 1930s rank among the most compelling examples of California WPA printmaking. Working within the traditions of Social Realism and the American Scene movement, he combined expressive draftsmanship with a modernist sense of design to create images of remarkable graphic power that address themes of labor, race, industry, and everyday American life. Born in Massachusetts in 1913, Panesis studied art at Syracuse University before joining the faculty of Alfred University, where he taught ceramics. In the early 1930s he relocated to California, first settling in San Francisco before moving to Los Angeles. There he worked for several animation studios...

Own a watershed moment in modern design with this original 1935 A.M. Cassandre L'Intransigeant vintage poster, widely regarded as the work that elevated commercial art to fine art. A...

This oil on canvas by Henry Malfroy (1895–1945) depicts the harbor of Sanary-sur-Mer from Quai Victor Hugo, painted during the 1920s–1930s. The scene has everything that makes the Pr...

Charles Turzak, 'Under the Bridge', color woodcut, edition c. 50, 1934. Signed and titled in pencil. A fine, richly-inked impression, with fresh colors, on cream wove Japan paper; th...

Kamei Tobei, 'First Snow of the Year at Kitano (Kitano Hatsu Yuki)', color woodblock print, c. 1930s. Signed Kamei Tobei in black ink, with the artist red seal Eiichi (the artist’s g...

Pablo Picasso "Tête de femme n°1. Portrait de Dora Maar" 1939 Colour aquatint, scraper and drypoint on laid paper with watermark "Picasso" Lower right inscribed and signed by the art...

Running along the beach playing with a beach ball, the woman in this Pablo Picasso print is rendered in a minimalistic fashion with only lines, bursts of color, and a few geometric s...

Le Corbusier (1887-1965) Two Spanish Women, 1938 Original lithograph Signature printed in the plate Dated in the plate On light vellum 21 x 27 cm (c. 8 ...

This is a signed woodcut engraving entitled "Mine Shaft" created by Albert Abramovitz in 1935, after a trip to the Soviet Union. It depicts two Russian workers constructing a mine sh...

"Femme Dessinant, Femme Assoupie" is a lithograph from the Marina Picasso Estate Collection after an original work by Pablo Picasso. In the 1970’s after Picasso’s death, Marina Picas...

Pablo Picasso (1881 - 1973) Au Vieux Sculpteur au Travail I (Old Sculptor at Work I), c. 1933 Medium: Etching on Montval Laid Paper with Vollard Watermark Edition: Edition of 260 Artwork Size: 10.5 x 7.6 in Framed Size: 28.5 x 24.25 x 1.5 in This work is Framed Etching on Montval Paper, from the Vollard Suite, c. 1933 Image Size: 10.5 x 7.6 inches From the small margins edition at 260 proofs, unsigned Published by Vollard, Paris Printed by Lacourière, Paris Pablo Picasso’s Vollard Suite...

Hiroshi Yoshida, 'Chion-in Temple Gate (Sunset)' from the series 'Eight Scenes of Cherry Blossoms (Sakura hachi dai: Sakura mon)', color woodblock print, 1935. Signed in brush 'Yoshida' and in pencil 'Hiroshi Yoshida'. A superb, early impression, with fresh colors; the full sheet with margins, on cream Japan paper; an area of slight toning in the top right sheet corner, not affecting the image, otherwise in excellent condition. Marked with a jizuri (self-printed) seal, upper left margin. Self-published by the artist. Image size 9 5/8 x 14 3/4 inches (444 x 375 mm); sheet size 10 7/8 x 16 inches (276 x 406 mm). Archivally sleeved, unmatted. Provenance: M. Nakazawa, Tokyo. Literature: Tadao Ogura, 'Yoshida Hiroshi zenhangashu (The Complete Woodblock Prints of Hiroshi Yoshida)', 1987, p. 140, no. 194 Amy Reigle Stephens, gen. ed., 'The New Wave: Twentieth-Century Japanese Prints from the Robert O. Muller Collection', 1993, p. 121, no. 111 Ogura Tadao, 'Yoshida Hiroshi ten: shizen-e no manazashi, tokubetsuten, botosugo 50 shunen kinen (Yoshida Hiroshi Exhibition)', MOA Museum of Art, 2000, p. 96, cat. no. 127 Amanda T. Zehnder, 'Modern Japanese Prints: The Twentieth Century', Carnegie Museum of Art, 2009, p. 189 Yoshida Hiroshi: A Retrospective, Chiba City Museum of Art, 2016, p. 211, cat. no. 5-27 Collections: Carnegie Museum of Art, Crocker Art Museum, Honolulu Museum of Art, Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Seattle Art Museum, Toledo Museum of Art. ABOUT THE IMAGE Located in Kyoto, Chionin is the main temple of the Jodo sect of Japanese Buddhism, one of the most popular Buddhist sects in Japan, having millions of followers. The Sanmon Gate, Chionin's entrance gate, standing 24 meters tall and 50 meters wide, it is the largest wooden temple gate in Japan and dates back to the early 1600s. Behind the gate, a broad set of stairs leads to the main temple grounds. ABOUT THE ARTIST Painter and printmaker Yoshida Hiroshi (1876-1950) is regarded as one of the greatest artists of the Japanese 'shin hanga' (New Print) movement. Yoshida was born as the second son of Ueda Tsukane in Kurume, Fukuoka Prefecture, a schoolteacher from an old samurai family. In 1891 he was adopted by his art teacher Yoshida Kasaburo in Fukuoka and took his surname. In 1893 he went to Kyoto to study painting, and the following year to Tokyo to join Koyama Shotaro's Fudosha private school; he also became a member of the Meiji Fine Arts Society. These institutions taught and advocated Western-style painting, greatly influencing Yoshida’s artistic development. In 1899 Yoshida had his first American exhibition at Detroit Museum of Art (now Detroit Institute of Art), making the first of many visits to the US and Europe. In 1902 he helped reorganize the Meiji Fine Arts Society, renaming it the Taiheiyo-Gakai (Pacific Painting...

Woodcut print on paper realized by Irma Stern in the mid-20th Century. Hand watercolored. Hand signed and numbered in pencil lower right. Edition of 23/40. Good condition.

Leon Bibel, 'Unemployed Marchers', 2-color lithograph, c. 1938, edition 25. Signed, titled, and numbered '2/25' in pencil. A fine, richly-inked impression on off-white, wove paper, w...

Landscape is an original artwork realized by George Henri Tribout. Original etching on paper glued on cardboard. Signature on the lower left corner. George Henri Tribout (Paris, 1...

Charles Turzak, 'The Workers (No. 1)', woodcut, edition c. 50, c. 1935. Signed and titled in pencil. Signed in the block, lower right. A fine, richly-inked impression, on cream wove...

Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) - La Grande Corrida Etching conceived in 1934, printed in 1939. The edition of 50 on Montval paper. Unsigned and unnumbered, as issued. Dimensions of w...

Louis Oscar Griffith (1875-1956) Noon Time Lull (Charleston, South Carolina) Etching & drypoint, c. 1930 Signed in pencil (see photo) Annotated: "2nd State" (of three?) Image/Plate s...

Howard Cook, 'Soaring New York', aquatint, soft-ground etching, roulette, 1931-32, edition 25, Duffy 165. Signed, dated, and annotated 'imp' in pencil. A superb, richly-inked, atmosp...

Allen Rohan Crite: 1910-2007. Extremely well listed and important African-American artist. He lived and worked mostly in Massachusetts Boston area. He has had Auction records for a L...

Jacques La Grange, 'The Yankee', color woodcut, edition 500, 1934. Signed and numbered '25/500' in pencil. A fine impression, with fresh colors, on cream wove paper, with margins (1 ...

Marc CHAGALL (1887-1985) Spring : Goat playing Violin and Woman with Bouquet 1938 Lithograph (Mourlot workshop) Engraved by Sorlier under Marc Chagall supervision Other lithograph...

Original Versailles, France vintage lithograph French travel poster. Printed by the French National Railroad, SNCF in the 1938's. Printer: Goossens. A poster fit for a king sin...

Barbara Latham, 'Bear Family', wood engraving, edition not stated, 1937. Signed in the block, lower left. Dated in the block, lower right. A fine, richly-inked impression, on cream w...

Thomas Hart Benton, 'Goin' Home', lithograph, 1937, edition 250, Fath 14. Signed in pencil. Signed in the stone, lower right. A fine, richly-inked impression, on off-white, wove pape...

Reginald Marsh (1898-1934), Tattoo-Shave-Haircut, etching, 1932. Signed, titled (“Tattoo-Haircut-Shave”), dedicated (“for Arnold Newman”), and annotated (“Fourth State. First of Two Prints”). Reference: Sasowsky 140. On cream wove paper. In very good condition, with small margins (as trimmed, slightly irregularly, by the artist) (slight foxing in margins), remains of prior hinging verso; 9 7/8 x 9 3/4, the sheet 10 15/16 x 10 5/8 inches; archival matting. A very fine rich black impression; we have not seen impressions of comparable quality on the market. Provenance: Estate of Arnold Newman. Arnold Newman (1918-2006) was one of the great 20th Century masters of photography, and a friend of many leading artists; it is appears that Marsh took special care in printing this impression for Newman. Sasowsky calls for 10 states of Tattoo-Shave, based largely on Marsh’s notes. But the states are not clearly delineated (e.g., his States 3 and 4, one proof each, are characterized by Marsh as “Engraving added”; no information is given for State 5). The design for the print was complete in the first state, and subsequent state changes were not, apparently, major. This impression does not appear to differ in etching lines from the final state impression shown in Sasowsky. Its inscription (as a Fourth State, by Marsh), as well as its rich inking and quality, attest to its being a proof before the edition (of about 34 impressions), but the state of this print (and, presumably of many of the other several proof impressions) cannot at this time be stated with confidence. Marsh printed this impression personally (we recall his famous answer 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”). Tattoo-Shave-Haircut depicts a scene in the Bowery, a section of New York’s Lower East Side, during the Great Depression. The building and train structures in the top half of the print recall Piranesi’s Carceri...

After Gustav Klimt, Max Eisler Plate #27, Madchen im Profile; grey-toned monochrome collotype after the 1916 painting in oil on canvas. Original destroyed by fire May 1945. GUSTAV K...

Leon Bibel, 'Food Not Cannon', etching, 1937, edition 12 (an early state, probably unique). Signed in pencil. A fine impression, on cream wove paper, with full margins (7/8 to 2 1/8 ...

Engraving (State IV) 11.5 x 6.75 inches (29.2 x 17.1 cm), sheet 6 x 4 inches (15.24 x 10.16 cm), plate Literature: Alfonso Panzetta, Jared French by Jared French: 600 Unpublished W...

Benton Spruance, 'Slack Rope Artist', lithograph, 1930, edition 30, Fine and Looney 35. Signed and titled in pencil. Numbered '2' in the bottom right margin. A fine impression, with ...

Charles Turzak, 'The Workers (No. 2)', woodcut, edition 50, c. 1935. Signed and numbered 2/50 in pencil. A fine, richly-inked impression, on cream wove Japan paper, with full margin...

Original vintage 1933 poster: Graphin. The silhouette of the man is sitting on a casket of wine with a big bottle of wine resting on the ground in front ...

A captivating 1930s New York Social Realist lithograph by famed American Modern artist and illustrator Don Freeman, Titled "Front Street in the Wee Hours", the lithograph is a moody...

This is a rare New York image by Levon West. Levon West, who also used the name Ivan Dimitri, was born on February 3, 1900 in Centerville, North Dakota....

Picture stepping into the electric energy of Chicago's lakefront in 1934—a moment when the entire world seemed to converge to celebrate human achievement and technological possibilit...

LOTERIE NATIONALE des PARFUMS. Original vintage French poster, 1939 lithograph. Professional acid-free archival linen-backed, fine condition. Read...

Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) - Femme Torero I Etching conceived in 1934, printed in 1939 The edition of 50 on Montval paper. Unsigned and unnumbered as issued. Dimensions of work: ...

JOSE CLEMENTE OROZCO (1893 - 1949) PROLETARIANS (aka Basurero, Scavengers ) 1935 (Orozco 27) lithograph, One of 88 signed and numbered of a total edition of 133, (+ 42 unnumbered a...

Woodcut print from the Series "Der vreeselijke avonturen vas Scholastica" (The Terrible Adventures of Scholastica). Edition of 300, published by A. J. van Dishoeck. Unsigned, ass i...

Artist: Manuel Robbe (French, 1872-1936) Title: Le Retour Des Pecheurs Year: 1933 Medium: Etching with aquatint Paper: B.F.K Rives Image (plate mark) size: 1...

New York City native Oscar Weissbuch (1904-1948), attended the Yale University School of Fine Arts and the Art Students League, NY. He participated in the NYC-WPA printmaking project...

An Ohio native Witonski made his home in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York City and this subject may well be a Chelsea scene. But mostly it is a homage to intaglio printmaking. It...

Edouard Benedictus, 'Poppy' from the portfolio 'Relais', plate 14, color pochoir, 1930. Signed in the matrix, in the center bottom margin. A superb, richly-inked impression, with fresh, vibrant colors, including metallic gold and silver inks, on heavy, cream wove paper; the full sheet with margins (1 3/8 inches), in excellent condition. Published by Éditions Vincent, Fréal et Cie, Paris. The pochoir production is by Jean Saudé, the French printmaker known for his mastery of the technique and the author of the first how-to book on the pochoir process. Matted to museum standards, unframed. Image size 14 3/8 x 11 inches (365 x 279 mm); sheet size 17 1/4 x 13 7/8 inches (438 x 352 mm). Impressions of this work are held in the following museum collections: Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum Library (Smithsonian), Metropolitan Museum of Art, Minneapolis Institute of Art, New York Public Library, Toledo Museum of Art, Victoria and Albert Museum (London), Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. ABOUT THIS WORK The Pochoir process is a refined stencil-based technique employed to create multiples or to add color to prints produced in other mediums. Characterized by its crisp lines and rich color, the print-making process was most popular from the late 19th century through the 1930s, with its center of activity in Paris. The pochoir process began with the analysis of an image’s composition, including color tones and densities. The numerous stencils (made of aluminum, copper, or zinc) necessary to create a complete image were then designed and hand-cut by the 'découpeur.' The 'coloristes' applied watercolor or gouache pigments through the stencils, skillfully employing a variety of different brushes and methods of paint application to achieve the desired depth of color and textural and tonal nuance. The pochoir process, by virtue of its handcrafted methodology, resulted in the finished work producing the effect of an original painting, and in fact, each print was unique. ABOUT THE ARTIST Edouard Benedictus (1878 -1930), artist, designer, composer, and chemist, was born and died in Paris. A highly-regarded designer and art critic of the Art Nouveau era, Benedictus gained renown as a colorist and creator of Art Deco-inspired geometric and floral motifs. His work had a significant influence on international fashions in clothing, home furnishings, graphic design, and decorative objects of the period, earning him commissions from leading European design firms. In 1925 he was invited to represent Art Deco textile design...

This (Street Scene) is undoubtedly O'Callahan's hometown of Buffalo, NY, where he lived and spent most of his career. The artist's name appears in pencil at the bottom edge on the re...

JOHN STEUART CURRY (1897-1946) THE MISSED LEAP, 1934 (Cole 23) Lithograph Signed titled, dated and numbered in pencil. Signed in the stone lower left. Image 17 x 9 3/4 “, sheet 20 ¼...

Artist: Pablo Picasso Title: Sculpteur et Modele debout Year: 1933 Medium: Original etching Edition: hand signed in pencil from an edition of 250 on small margins Size: Frame: 27 x 2...

Donald Shaw MacLaughlan Chicago : Michigan Avenue n°1, c. 1931 Original etching Printed signature in the plate On vellum 38 x 50 cm (c. 15 x 20 in) V...

Medium: original woodcut. Catalogue reference Roethel 145. Printed in Paris in 1938 for the art revue XXe Siecle (issue number 3). Image size: 7 x 8 1/2 inches (170 x 218 mm). Sheet ...

Original 1931 South Africa Express Vintage Italian Cruise Line Poster - Art Deco Masterpiece - Rare Collectible. Archival linen backed in Grade A- condition. This poster features...

Bowling on the Green (from the Bicentennial Pageant of George Washington) 'Bowling on the Green', by printmaker Frederick Childe Hassam, depicts George Washington and friends lawn b...

Tentez Votre Chance Loterie Nationale original antique French art deco poster; image created by artist Francois del Ry. "Try Your Luck National Lottery." This is a small format size...