National Serigraph Society

Last updated
National Serigraph Society
Formation1940 (1940)
PurposeTo support and promote American artists creating and printing works using the silkscreen process.
Formerly called
Silk Screen Group

The National Serigraph Society was founded in 1940 by a group of artists involved in the WPA Federal Art Project, including Anthony Velonis, Max Arthur Cohn, and Hyman Warsager. [1] [2] [3] The creation of the society coincided with the rise of serigraphs being used as a medium for fine art. [4] Originally called the Silk Screen Group, the name was soon changed to the National Serigraph Society. [5]

The National Serigraph Society had its own gallery, the Serigraph Gallery at 38 West 57th Street in New York City. [6] They published a quarterly newsletter called the "Serigraph Quarterly." [7] The Society had lectures, published prints, and coordinated traveling shows. [8]

In "The Complete Printmaker: Techniques, Traditions, Innovations", the authors wrote that this organization, by 1940, had an active program of "traveling exhibits, lectures, and portfolios of prints (that) helped to sustain and broaden interest in the serigraph. Artists such as Ben Shahn, Mervin Jules, Ruth Gikow, Edward Landon, and Hyman Warsager were intrigued by the medium". [9]

In their 1970 book “Silk-Screen Printing for Artists & Craftsmen”, Mathilda V. and James A. Schwalbach wrote that a “major force in the development of serigraphy as a fine art was the formation in 1940 of the National Serigraph Society. It has set standards of excellence and has sent hundreds of exhibitions of its members’ work to countries all over the world. These exhibitions are responsible for a good deal of museum interest in the purchase of original prints as part of museum collections”. [10]

J.I. Biegeleisen and Max Arthur Cohn (a co-founder of the Society noted above), writing in 1942 about the origin and development of serigraphy, observed: "Specially noteworthy has been the work of the National Serigraph Society, New York, which has been the source of inspiration, clearing house, and temple of artists and print makers everywhere. The National Serigraph Society and its active director, Doris Meltzer, have been largely responsible for promoting this new print form and raising it to the level of a museum art form". [11]

Dallas Museum of Art Exhibits

In 1944, 1947, and 1951 the Dallas Museum of Art held exhibitions of the National Serigraph Society. [12] [13] [14]

The artists listed in the checklists for these shows include: [12] [13] [14]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Screen printing</span> Printing technique

Screen printing is a printing technique where a mesh is used to transfer ink onto a substrate, except in areas made impermeable to the ink by a blocking stencil. A blade or squeegee is moved across the screen in a "flood stroke" to fill the open mesh apertures with ink, and a reverse stroke then causes the screen to touch the substrate momentarily along a line of contact. This causes the ink to wet the substrate and be pulled out of the mesh apertures as the screen springs back after the blade has passed. One colour is printed at a time, so several screens can be used to produce a multi-coloured image or design.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harry Sternberg</span> American painter

Harry Sternberg (1904–2001), was an American painter, printmaker and educator. He taught at the Art Students League of New York, from 1933 to c. 1966.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harry Gottlieb</span> American painter

Harry Gottlieb was an American painter, screen printer, lithographer, and educator.

Harry Shoulberg was an American expressionist painter. He was known to be among the early group of WPA artists working in the screen print (serigraph) medium, as well as oil.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edmond Casarella</span> American painter and sculptor

Edmond Casarella was an American printmaker, painter, and sculptor based in the New York metropolitan area. He developed the innovative use of a layered cardboard printing matrix that could be carved like a woodcut, enabling the inexpensive creation of large-scale works.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ruth Gikow</span> American artist (1915–1982)

Ruth Gikow was an American visual artist known primarily for her work as a genre painter. Her paintings often depict human figures interacting with an urban environment.

Riva Helfond was an American artist and printmaker best known for her social realist studies of working people's lives.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sylvia Wald</span>

Sylvia Wald was an American visual artist. Born in Philadelphia and educated at Moore Institute of Art, she began as a painter in the style of the American social realist school, before turning to Abstract Expressionism through her pioneering work in silk screening and sculptural collage. She has been noted for her "wide range of expression, diversity of media and technical excellence."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anthony Velonis</span> American painter

Anthony Velonis was an American painter and designer born in New York City who helped introduce the public to silkscreen printing in the early 20th century. He married Elizabeth Amidon, with whom he had four children.

Max Arthur Cohn (1903–1998) was an English-born American artist. His family immigrated to the United States when he was two years old.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ruth Chaney</span> American artist

Ruth Chaney (1908–1973) was an American artist known for her printmaking.

Louise Arnstein Freedman was an American artist, known for illustration, lithography and serigraphy.

Mary Van Blarcom (1913–1953) was an American artist known for her printmaking.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harry Shokler</span> American painter

Harry Shokler (1896–1978) was a 20th-century American artist known for his oil paintings and screen prints. Using a realist approach that produced what one critic called an "exactness of rendition", he made colorful landscapes, cityscapes, and marine scenes as well as some notable portraits. He helped pioneer silkscreen printmaking in the 1930s and wrote an influential guide explaining and demonstrating the method. He gave few solo or small group exhibitions in commercial galleries and showed his work mainly from his own studio and in non-profit venues.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hyman J. Warsager</span> American artist

Hyman J. Warsager (1909–1974) was an American artist known for his printmaking.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Floethe</span> American artist

Richard Floethe (1901–1988) was an American artist. He served as the art director of the Works Progress Administration's (WPA) Federal Art Project (FAP) New York City poster division and then went on to illustrate numerous books.

Ernest Hopf was a German-American artist known for his silk screen prints.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mervin Jules</span> American artist

Mervin Jules (1912–1994) was an American artist known for his silk screen prints.

Joseph Rajer was an American artist known for his woodcuts and serigraphs.

This is a timeline of 20th-century printmaking in America.

References

  1. ↑ "Smithsonian Archives of American Art - Oral history interview with Anthony Velonis, 1965, October 13". Smithsonian Archives of American Art. 2002-12-20. Retrieved 2022-06-24.
  2. ↑ "Screen Printing Trivia". Serie Project. 26 November 2012. Archived from the original on 2019-02-08. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  3. ↑ "Max Arthur Cohn Biography". The Annex Galleries. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  4. ↑ Jagasia, Lavesh. "Serigraphs - A Brief History". The Serigraph Studio. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  5. ↑ Burlingham, Cynthia. "A Very Democratic Form". Hammer Museum. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  6. ↑ Devree, Howard (April 20, 1955). "Serigraph Society's Annual Show Called International Event of Strong Color". New York Times Company.
  7. ↑ "Serigraph quarterly / published by the National Serigraph Society". Collections Search Center. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  8. ↑ Ross, John; Romano, Claire; Ross, Tim (2009). Complete Printmaker. Simon and Schuster. p. 145. ISBN   978-1-4391-3509-9.
  9. ↑ Ross, John; Romano, Clare; Ross, Tim (1990). The Complete Printmaker: Techniques, Traditions, Innovations (Revised ed.). New York, N.Y.: Free Press (A division of Simon & Schuster). p. 145. ISBN   9780029273715.
  10. ↑ Schwalbach, Mathilda V. and James A. (1981). Silk-Screen Printing for Artists & Craftsmen (Revised ed.). New York: Dover Publications. p. 16. ISBN   9780486240466.
  11. ↑ Biegeleisen, J.I.; Cohn, Max Arthur (1958). Silk Screen Techniques (2nd ed.). New York: Dover Publications, Inc. p. 14. ISBN   9780486204338.
  12. 1 2 Dallas Museum of Fine Arts (1947). "National Serigraph Exhibition, January 15–February 15, 1947 [Checklist]". The Portal to Texas History. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  13. 1 2 Dallas Museum of Fine Arts (1951). "National Serigraph Society Exhibition, April 1–May 2, 1951 [Checklist]". The Portal to Texas History. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  14. 1 2 "National Serigraph Society Exhibition". Dallas Museum of Art. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.