Astranautical

Irving George Lehman

George Irving Lehman created a series of prints around the late 1930s to early 1940s in leadcut, experimenting with the more forgiving, soft metal medium to produce the abstract compositions he normally did in woodcut. Leadcut, having been used for the printed word since at least the 18th century, gained momentum in the art world in the 1930s partially owing to the wordless novel as executed in leadcut by German Expressionist Otto Nuckel. It produced a different texture on the paper than wood and copper and created a sometimes unpredictable inked surface that nonetheless lent interest to the composition.

In “Astranautical” Lehman inks over ninety percent of the lead plate, his etching a simple collection of thin lines to suggest otherworldly figures in the vacuum of space. The lead matrix was printed in relief, the resulting black background exhibits a kind of shimmering effect, like a ripple on the surface of water, that lends to the feeling of starry navigation.

Because lead is so soft and subject to dents, scratches, and the like, and without electroplating the surface, it is difficult to get a large edition.