90. Grant Wood (American, 1892-1942)

"January".
lithograph, 1938, Associated American Artists edition of 250, signed in pencil lower right margin, matted in original AAA mat.
9" x 11-3/4" (image).
11-7/8" x 16" (sheet).

3,000/5,000     

Grant Wood's early interest in metalwork, needlework and jewelry is evident in his graphic works, for his lithographs possess the precision, recurrent pattern, and stylization one associates with fine handicraft. In this celebrated lithograph entitled "January" (a print he based upon one of his easel paintings), Wood used a quite idiosyncratic technique that resembles stitchery. He built up his planes and shapes through an elaborate and patient network of small interwoven strokes of the lithographic crayon. It would often take months for Wood to produce a lithograph while Thomas Hart Benton, the artist who pushed Wood to take up lithography, would often finish a stone in the course of a single day.

Literature:
Sylvan Cole, Jr., Grant Wood: The Lithographs. A Catalogue Raisonne. New York, Associated American Artists, 1984.

Condition: excellent, all edges of paper is deckled, top margin is 1-3/8", left margin is 1-7/8", right margin is 2-1/4", bottom margin is 1-5/8".