Pedro Joseph de Lemos (II)

Pedro Joseph de Lemos

(1882-1945)

began his art studies in the Bay Area. In 1900 he was a pupil of Arthur Matthews at the Mark Hopkins Institute and continued his studies as a student of George Bridgman at the Art Students League in New York and Arthur Wesley Dow at Columbia University Teachers College.

Returning to Oakland, Lemos set up his studio overlooking Lake Merritt and began teaching at U.C. Berkeley. He also worked as an illustrator and designer and began teaching classes in decorative design and etching at the San Francisco Institute of Art, formerly the Mark Hopkins Institute, in 1911.

Lemos was a founding member of the California Society of Etchers and one of his prints won honorable mention at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in 1915 for which he was chief organizer of the California print exhibition. Frances Hammel Gearhardt (1869-1958) exhibited there too.



He was Professor of Design at Stanford University and was appointed director of the Stanford Museum of Art in 1919. First president of the Carmel Art Association, Lemos was also affiliated with other art organizations including the California Society of Etchers, the California Print Makers, the Palo Alto Art Associations, the Chicago Society of Etchers and the Bohemian Club.

His influence was widespread and his achievements were honored in 1943 by his induction as fellow of the Royal Society of Art in London.

The purpose of this posting is to shown together all the pictures of woodblock prints by Pedro de Lemos I've collected strolling on the Internet. To my knowledge there is no publication on his art or woodblock prints. If you know of more prints please let me know.

Most pictures have good resolution, one ore two haven't. If you have better ones I would appreciate sending me a copy. Most pictures are "mouse clickable". I hope I have surprised you with one or two not often seen prints. I have a file with some paintings by de Lemos which I will post on request.

The text in this posting I borrowed from: the International Fine Print Dealers Association.

For further reading visit:

http://thebluelantern.blogspot.com/2010/08/make-every-line-count-pedro-de-lemos.html

http://www.clivechristy.com/2009/08/pedro-de-lemos-1882-1954.html

Next: the influence of Pedro the Lemos on Dutch woodblock printer Arie Zonneveld (1905-1941).

Pedro Joseph de Lemos (I)

Pedro Joseph de Lemos
(1882-1945)

painter, printmaker, architect, illustrator, writer, lecturer and museum director. Also an influential theorist and educator.

His most influential roles were those of teacher, theorist, author and arts administrator. Today as an introduction I show you his two books (he published more tutorials) that are of great interest to collectors, critics, artists and students to this day.

Applied Art, first published 1920

this edition: 1936 Pacific Press Publishing Association

for B.T. Batsford Ltd, London

The Art Teacher, first published 1931

this edition Sixth Printing 1947

B.T. Batsford, Ltd London

Both books can be found easily (bookfinder.com) And won't hurl you into bankruptcy. 400 pages each and packed full of drawings and enjoyment on every page. Besides they give a preview or retrospective view on the compositions, color combinations and Notan, the distribution of light and dark, he (and many others) used in his paintings, drawings and prints.

My next posting will show all prints by Pedro de Lemos I was able to excavate from the Internet and other sources. Hopefully some more will emerge. To my knowledge there is no official publication on Pedro de Lemos’ Art to this day.

See also Clive on his excellent Blog
http://www.clivechristy.com/2009/08/pedro-de-lemos-1882-1954.html
for some more explaining, a print and two paintings by de Lemos.

A. de Jong-Blom: Hogebeintum

A. de Jong-Blom
(den Helder 1918- Langezwaag Fr. 1986)

Dutch amateur linoleum block printer
Vicar


(new biographical data and some added examples of her work below: 
december 2011 from Mrs. de Jongs' son Titus) 

The linoleum print, below, a recent local flea market find. Mrs. de Jong, the most common name in Friesland ("Young") and in fact in the entire Netherlands. So there is no easy way finding out who she was. Maybe a Dutch reader recognizes. Maybe it was just made as an evening pass-time in 1962. People did, before television took over.

She choose to depict Hogebeintum (Hegebeintum) the highest (8+ meters) of man made mound or Tumulus (dutch: “Terp”) in the North Seas' tidal mudflats stretching from the Netherlands to Denmark. It’s located just 40 miles from my home. And 5 miles south of my beloved Island of Ameland. Now safely guarded behind modern Delta Dikes but once exposed to Nordic winds and floods blowing from as far as Greenland and the North Pole itself.

These mounds were build as refuge against the North Sea and were inhabited from about 800 BC. The first communities, later kingdoms sprang up from these mounts. Far before the Frisians and the Christian monasteries started building dikes, claiming new land and taming the sea.

The asterix must have been were Mrs. de Jong in 1962 choose her view of Hegebeintum.

Many were excavated and mined in XIX century for their fertile soils created by centuries of acumulating waste and dung. The linoleum print showing the scars on the remaming body of the mound. Without enough support these excavated mounds slowly slide away. In need of restoration and repairs. They yield up Roman and Scandinavian artifacts. The 13th century church and cemetery is but all what is left of this one, the mound Hogebeintum. But many are still intact. They are part of the Frisian history and legacy dominating the otherwise completely flat landscape.

This was as far North as the RomanEmpire grew on mainland Europe. Read Pliny's (Caius Plinius Secundus or , Pliny the elder, AD 23-79) great eye witness account on what he thought of this God forsaken land and its lamentable people "were the land rises from misty seas twice daily": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frisian_Islands After having seen Hogebeintum, leaving these worthless provinces unconquered Pliny died in action, giving yet another eye witness account of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in his native Italy in AD 79. A true frontline reporter.
Now these Northern provinces, produce (Frisian) cattle “from the best and richest land on earth”), dairy, potatoes and wheat to feed millions of Europeans and for export. And homeland of the proud never conquered Frisians, from Amsterdam to Hamburg to Kopenhagen. West Frisians, East Frisians, and North Frisians.

Visit and listen to the wind in Hogebeintum, Friesland, Netherlands
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7AZkpoXfjE

These new examples of prints by Mrs. de Jong were added december 10th 2011. They are typical products of amateur artist in the 1950-1960's when there was hardly television and people still created their personal Xmas cards. Both Mrs. and Mr. de Jong  were vicars and were called to Hogebeintum in 1958 and lived there until retirement. The second one is a new church seal for the parish of Ferwerd.  

Christmas cards  and a new church seal 

Viktor Pirkhoff (IV) the flower bouquets

Viktor Pirkhoff

(Prag 1875-1962 Brno)

Part IV

The Flower Bouquet Prints

(Larger pictures by V. Pirkhoff, smaller ones for comparison)

I hope, from a woodblock enthousiast's (and flower prints in particular) viewpoint, I have kept the best for the last. Here they are !

Hugo Noske (1886-1960)

Martin Erich Philipp (1887-1978)

These first two prints I found last year in different auctions in the USA and became the start of these postings and the rediscovery of the Art of Viktor Pirkhoff

This above print is probably Pirkhoffs most impressive one. More then 15 blocks were used to create all colors. Using so many blocks created John Hall Thorpe's (1887-1975) fame as a woodblock printer in his 1922 "the Country Bunch" (below) and resulted in one of the most loved prints in the Art Deco Style.

John Hall Thorpe (1874-1947)

Hugo Noske (1886-1960)

Martin Erich Philipp (1887-1978)

As you can judge now for yourselfs I think it is fair to say that Viktor Pirkhoff could match the most renowned flower woodblock printers of the twentieth century. The way he was treated by the successive authorities and later becoming completely forgotten and obscured is very sad.

I hope through this postings Viktor Pirkhoff shall be known and appreciated again amongst the great European woodblock printers of the twentieth century.

Thank you Miroslav for trusting me with his legacy and creating this four postings.

Please, honor Viktor Pirkhoff with a comment on (one of) these postings .