Mexican Self Portrait
To end this week's very feathery adventure on a strong note, I have chosen the powerful, sometimes ominous
creatures of Leonard Baskin, an American artist who worked as a sculptor, painter, illustrator, wood-engraver,
printmaker, graphic artist, writer and teacher. Born in 1922, Baskin grew up in New York and studied at
a Jewish religious college before going to Yale University. While still a student he founded Gehenna,
a small private press that produced over 100 fine books before his death in 2000, becoming the longest running
privately owned press in the US. From 1953 to 1974 Baskin taught printmaking and sculpture at Smith College
in Northampton, Massachusetts, then moved for nine years with the family to Devon, close to his good friend
the poet Ted Hughes. Leonard and Ted collaborated on various publications, including Crow and Cave Birds.
Baskin won a Caldecott honor for his children's book Hosie's Alphabet in 1973.
The Black Raptor
Fanciful Bird
Open Fantasy
Baskin created a great number of prints, using techniques ranging from woodcut to etching and lithography.
Eagles of Heaven
Rainbow Tailed Raptor
Burgeoning Phoenix
Celebration Bird
After spending the first half of his artistic career expressing himself exclusively in black and white,
Baskin started his explorations of color as shown in the three watercolors above. His artworks are hosted
in the collections of many major international museums, including the Metropolitan, The Museum of Modern Art,
the Vatican, the British Museum, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Smithsonian and the Tate Gallery.
The images in this post are thanks to R. Michelson Galleries beautiful website.
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