Chicago Society of Etchers was founded in January 1910. Although it was not the first organization of etchers in the country (preceded by groups beginning with the New York Etchers (later Etching) Club in 1877), it was certainly noteworthy. There were 20 members to start and by 1930 there were 150 members. Membership extended outside of the United States, including artists from England, France, Italy, Germany, Sweden, India, China and Japan. [1]
In 1909, to popularize the medium of etching, Bertha Jaques and other etchers in Chicago formed the Needle Club, an informal collective of etchers passionate about reintroducing the American public to the art of etching. [2] In 1910 it became the Chicago Society of Etchers. The organization was primarily responsible for showing members’ etchings at the Art Institute of Chicago. It attracted international members and was successful at popularizing etching in 20th-century America. [3] Society members pooled funds for annual prizes for new prints, to be gifted to the Art Institute, and tithed ten percent of their dues to the museum for new print acquisitions. The group disbanded in 1956. [4]
Frank Weston Benson, frequently referred to as Frank W. Benson, was an American artist from Salem, Massachusetts, known for his Realistic portraits, American Impressionist paintings, watercolors and etchings. He began his career painting portraits of distinguished families and murals for the Library of Congress. Some of his best known paintings depict his daughters outdoors at Benson's summer home, Wooster Farm, on the island of North Haven, Maine. He also produced numerous oil, wash and watercolor paintings and etchings of wildfowl and landscapes.
The etching revival was the re-emergence and invigoration of etching as an original form of printmaking during the period approximately from 1850 to 1930. The main centres were France, Britain and the United States, but other countries, such as the Netherlands, also participated. A strong collector's market developed, with the most sought-after artists achieving very high prices. This came to an abrupt end after the 1929 Wall Street crash wrecked what had become a very strong market among collectors, at a time when the typical style of the movement, still based on 19th-century developments, was becoming outdated.
The New York Etching Club, formally New York Etchers Club, was one of the earliest professional organization in America devoted to the medium of etching. Its founders were inspired by the Etching revival that had blossomed in France and England in the middle of the 19th century. The purpose of the club was to create and promote etchings that did not merely reproduce existing paintings, but were original creations of art in their own right.
Mukul Chandra Dey was one of five children of Purnashashi Devi and Kula Chandra Dey. He was a student of Rabindranath Tagore's Santiniketan and is considered as a pioneer of drypoint-etching in India. The entire family of Mukul Dey had artistic talents, the brother Manishi Dey was a well-known painter, and his two sisters, Annapura and Rani Chanda, were accomplished in arts and crafts as well.
Leon Rene Pescheret, also known as Léon-René Pescheret was a British-born American designer, watercolorist, etcher, and illustrator.
The California Society of Printmakers (CSP) is the oldest continuously operating association of printmakers and friends of printmakers in the United States. CSP is a 501(c)(3) non-profit arts organization with an international membership of print artists and supporters of the art of fine printmaking. CSP promotes professional development and opportunity for printmakers, and educates artists and the public about printmaking. New members are admitted by portfolio review. Friends, Institutional and Business members are admitted by fee. CSP is based in the San Francisco Bay Area, California.
Norma Bassett Hall (1889–1957) was an American printmaker. She was a woodblock printmaker and often depicted landscapes and outdoor scenes.
Bror Julius Olsson Nordfeldt was an American artist who painted seascapes and depictions of New Mexico's indigenous culture.
Bertha Boynton Lum was an American artist known for helping popularize the Japanese and Chinese woodblock print outside of Asia.
Bertha Evelyn Jaques was an American etcher and cyanotype photographer. Jaques helped found the Chicago Society of Etchers, an organization that would become internationally significant for promoting etching as a popular printmaking technique. She is best known for her hand-colored botanical prints and scenes from her foreign and domestic travels.
The Society of Canadian Painter-Etchers and Engravers (CPE) was a non-profit organization of Canadian etchers and engravers.
Reynold Henry Weidenaar (1915-1985) was an artist from Grand Rapids, Michigan, recognized nationally as well as locally for his technical virtuosity as a draftsman and printmaker. He embraced the subject matter and realism of American Regionalist art, though his depictions of the American Scene reflect a uniquely personal, often satirical perspective. Weidenaar is especially known for his mezzotint prints, particularly those of architectural subjects, such as the construction of the Mackinac Bridge.
May Gearhart was an American printmaker who was part of an early 20th century circle of Southern California printmakers strongly influenced by the Arts and Crafts movement and Japanese art.
Norah Hamilton was an artist and the director of the Children's Art program at Hull House where she lived for more than 20 years. She was a pioneer in art education for underprivileged children.
Beatrice Sophia Steinfeld Levy was an American printmaker and painter, draftsman, and instructor.
Kathrin Cawein (1895–1996) was an American printmaker known for her etchings. Her style was realist and her subjects were mainly landscapes and interiors. Early in her career, her work received praise from one critic for its "adroit handling of color and good drawing — a technique that seems to express personal engaging conceptions." Critics also considered her prints to be "striking" and having a "high level of workmanship."
Augusta Payne Briggs Rathbone was an American painter, etcher and printmaker. She studied at the University of California, Berkeley and in Paris. She depicted people and locations from San Francisco, the Sierra, New York City, the West Coast of Canada, the Canadian Rockies, and France. In 1938, she published a book of aquatints of French Riviera Villages with photographs by Juliet Thompson and text by Virginia Thompson. Her work appeared internationally in group and solo exhibitions, and continues to appear in retrospectives of American printmaking.
Frances Julia Farrand Dodge was an American artist and teacher.
Vernon H. Thomas Kirkbride Rudd Leigh was an American artist, known professionally as Vernon Thomas after 1928. She specialized in portraits of children. Her works were exhibited internationally, and appeared on magazine covers in the 1920s and 1930s.
John Wesley Cotton was a printmaker, painter and watercolourist. He was known for his exqusite aquatints, etchings, and drypoints. He introduced the colour aquatint process to Canada. He also painted watercolours. While living in Southern California from 1918 on, he added oil paintings of landscapes to his achievements.
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