Greeks vs Amazons

Warrington Colescott

"Greeks and Amazons" is the second of a three part series using the same plate. The artist employed various intaglio methods to create the image, including attaching an English penny to the matrix as a shield for the mounted Amazon.

The first of the series was printed with a blue background and titled "Men vs. Women" and printed in an edition of 30; the second "Greeks and Amazons" employs bright oranges and ochres (this image), printed in an edition of 20 and finally, "Greeks and Amazons; Men vs Women", printed in black ink in an edition of 40.

In her catalogue raisonné of Colescott's prints Mary Weaver Chapin makes this comment on page 30:

"Colescott continued to mix references from the past with the present once he returned to Madison (from Kalamazoo, Michigan) in January of 1964. A motley assortment of Amazonian godesses, a medieval knight, and ordinary modern citizens turn up in "Greeks vs Amazons" (cat. 90). A riot of color enriches this drypoint, which is enhanced by scoring from a roulette wheel and overprinting with an English penny. An additional plate serves as a shield for a kneeling Amazon, her pose borrowed from Colescott's memories of antique sculpture and vases."