Cavendish Church
1944. Etching on antique grayish-blue laid paper, 9 1/2 x 5 1/2 inches (242 x 140 mm); sheet 12 5/8 x 7 5/9 inches (325 x 198 mm), full margins. Signed, titled, dated and inscribed Trial Proof XIII II, Cavendish Church. Trial Proof XIII; second, published state, an old English (early 19th). To my dearest sister, with deepest devotion, John Taylor Arms, 1944. A trial proof aside from 155 impressions from the second state (of 2). Printed by David Strang. English Series, No. 11. In superb condition with excellent inking, rich tonality and magnificent detail.
On an impression owned by Arms biographer William Dolan Fletcher, Arms notes that he spent 236 hours etching the first state, and an additional 53 3/4 hours on the second state.
[Fletcher 381.].
Born in 1887 in Washington DC, John Taylor Arms studied at Princeton University, and ultimately earned a degree in architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1912. With the outbreak of W.W.I, Arms served as an officer in the United States Navy, and it was during this time that he turned his focus to printmaking, having published his first etching in 1919. His first subjects were the Brooklyn Bridge, near the Navy Yard, and it was during his wartime travel that Arms created a series of extraordinarily detailed etchings based on gothic cathedrals and churches he visited in France and Italy (the plate for Guardians of the Spire was created in 1921). He used what was available to him, namely sewing needles and a magnifying glass, to create the incredibly rich and fine detail that his etchings are known for. Upon his return to New York after the war, Arms enjoyed a successful career as a graphic artist, created a series of etchings of American cities, and published Handbook of Print Making and Print Makers (Macmillan, 1934). He served as President of the Society of American Graphic Artists, and in 1933, was made a full member of the National Academy of Design. Arms died in Fairfield, Connecticut in 1953.
Item number: 2046
Price: $500.00
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