Death of a Forest
Maker
Paul Landacre
(American, 1893-1963)
ClassificationsPRINTS
Date1938
Mediumwood engraving
Dimensionsimage: 8 5/16 x 11 1/8 in. (21.1 x 28.3 cm.)
sheet: 10 3/8 x 14 1/2 in. (26.4 x 36.8 cm.)
DescriptionDark hillside with flames and smoke
SignedSigned in lower right of recto in graphite: Paul Landacre
InscribedSigned in lower right of recto in graphite: Paul Landacre
Inscribed in lower right of recto in graphite: To Florence 1937 Paul
Inscribed in lower left of recto in graphite: 25/60 Death of a Forest
Stamped in lower right of recto in red ink: [symbol]
Inscribed in lower center of inside mat in graphite: Paul Cadmus / American (1893 - 1963) / "Death of Forest", 1938. Wood engraving on wove japanese paper. / Edition of 60.
Credit LineThe Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. Gift of Hannah S. Kully
Label TextIn Death of a Forest, Landacre's elaborate system of hatching and crosshatching expresses the heat and smoke of a fire in the mountains surrounding Los Angeles, an all-too-common occurrence in late summer and early fall. Writers on American prints, including curator Carl Zigrosser and printmaker Rockwell Kent, considered Landacre to be one of the best wood engravers in the United States. Landacre settled in Los Angeles in 1916, studied at the Otis School of Art and Design, and worked as a commercial illustrator. After experimenting with a variety of print media, he started wood engraving in 1927. The medium appealed to him for its ability to produce crisp distinctions between white and black.
Status
Not on viewObject number2014.30.88
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