who dunnit? in the style of tanaka ryohei etching
In 1968 Haku Maki completed his Animal Song series. It was 12 different prints, one for each year of the Chinese/Japanese zodiac. Each print had the title Animal Song and the kanji for the animal, which was not translated. This print, Animal Song [dragon], 14/50, is a beautiful Maki red. The dragon of the image is a very traditional Chinese character for dragon. In this print Maki used the theme dragon for the first time. This dashing abstract kanji seems to almost swirl out of the paper...
In late 2011, I received several Maki prints of 1981. These all have leather-like surfaces. I thought this was a phenomenon of that year. I was wrong. Maki actually used this surface in 1971 for a few Persimmon prints and then not again until 1981. I show here copies from my Maki archives. When we filed those images a long time ago, they were not clear enough, are still not. But I think they are with that leather-like finish. Any views most gratefully received...
William Lee Hankey, British, 1869-1952, "Light in the Cottage," Etching, image size 8 7/8 x 5 3/4 inches, 1909, edition of 9, cat: Hardie-55, pencil signed l.r, "W Lee Hankey", plate initialed l.r. and artist seal l.c.
Haku Maki was a prolific artist of modern Japanese prints in the second half of the 20th century. Many of his prints are known but quite a few remain unseen, even in the Internet age. The Emanation series was large: Maki probably produced more than 100 different prints in the series. At this advanced age, I have only seen about 30 of the Emanation prints—-and have only managed to acquire a few...
Andre Dunoyer de Segonzac, French, 1884-1974, "The Beach at Saint Tropez," Etching with drypoint, image size 9 1/4 x 11 1/2, 1934, edition of 40, pencil signed and numbered. This print is also in the MoMA collection.
Jacques Villon (French, 1875-1963) original, signed silkscreen print - Petite Peinture Cubiste (Little Cubist Painting). Sheet size: 25 inches x 19 inches. Image size: 18.5 inches x 12.5 inches. Circa 1953. "Petite Peinture Cubiste" was originally painted by Jacques Villon in 1921...
The Title: "La Jolla"
Artist: Thomas McKnight (1941- )
Medium: Original Serigraph on arches paper, unframed
The size of Sheet: 32 1/2" x 35"
The size of Image: 26" x 29"
The year made: 1987
Publisher: Chalk & Vermillion
Edition No.: CIV/CL in roman numerals (115/150)
Signed: Lower right by artist, McKnight in pencil
The condition: Excellent, never been framed
Beautiful Serigraph by Thomas McKnight. Very crisp colors...
Albert W. Barker, American, 1874-1947, "Beyond Paul Point," Lithograph, image size 11 7/8 x 8 7/8 inches, 1930, edition of 125, initialed and dated within the plate, pencil signed and editioned.
Jacques Reich, American, 1852-1923, "Portrait of Whistler," Etching by Jacques Reich after the painting by Giovanni Boldini, image size 20 5/8 x 11 1/2 inches, 1916, pencil signed. Whistler's signature is etched below the image, Boldini's in the lower left corner of the image.
5.75 x 8.5 in. ai in Japanese
The white background is punctuated by a yellow sun and a red splash --true Maki style.
Frame 5 shows Sanae’s careful translation and explanation of this print – and her intuition as to what Maki-san may have meant when he created this image 41 years ago. Copyright 2012 Sanae Nakajima Chambers and Daniel Tretiak
Stephen Parrish, American, 1846-1938, "Evening- Gloucester," Etching, image size 8 5/8 x 14 inches, 1883, cat: Schneider-77, plate signed "Stephen Parrish" l.l. "77"(reversed) l.r.
Peter Moran, American, 1842-1914, "Crossing the Ford," Etching, image size 15 3/4 x 23 3/4 inches, c. 1886-87, cat: Wright-98, pencil signed l.r, remarque of a hay wagon l.l.
Louis Auguste Mathieu Legrand, French, 1863-1951, "Frio," Etching, aquatint and drypoint, image size 7 1/2 x 12 inches, 4th state, "Louis Legrand" pencil and plate signed l.r., Arwas A74.
William Woollett, British, 1735-1785, "Solitude," Engraving by William Woollett after the painting by R. Wilson, image size 15 1/4 x 21 inches, published June 4 1778, titled "Solitude" with a remarque of a shield in the lower center margin. This is a rare early proof before additional lettering.
In 1976 Haku Maki did three pairs of prints in which the black and white were reversed. One set is shown here. The cement blocks were used to print the white on black, then cleaned to do black on white. These were done in such themes as Mind Wind and Cloud. These are strong sweeping images in rather large prints. The two Wind images here are typical of the type. They are all about 15" x 20" and in editions of 150.
Ovesized Japanese limited edition copperplate etching titled “Takafune Village” by Tanaka Ryohei (1933-2019). Pencil-signed, dated 2004, and numbered 8/100 in the lower margin. Paper size: 22 1/8" x 14 3/4" (image: 18 1/4" x 10 3/4"). This etching was never framed and is in excellent condition.
Haku Maki did a wide range of works: prints of many sizes, book plates, greeting cards, and postcards. Here are four postcards that he did in 1999. They are lithographs, each signed and with a Maki seal. They also appeared as prints at the same time. Haku Maki or his family produced them in the last year or so of his life.