Amiens; The Cathedral of Notre Dame, from the Lower Town
1926. Etching with drypoint on watermarked FJ Head & Co. handmade laid paper, 10 3/4 x 9 7/8 inches (272 x 252 mm); sheet 18 1/8 x 14 1/8 inches (461 x 360 mm), full margins. A trial proof aside from the regular edition of 100. Signed, dated, inscribed "I" in pencil in the lower margin. From the small batch of impressions printed by Frederick Reynolds. With both the artist's moniker ink stamp and the Collection John Taylor Arms ink stamp, both in black ink, in the lower margin. There is also a New York Public Library accession number in the lower right, as well as a pencil inscription indicating that the print was once in the Eddie Welch Estate collection, 1975. Small loss at the top-left sheet edge, well outside of the image area, otherwise in excellent condition.
[Fletcher 181].
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: 2318
Price: $1,700.00
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