Head of a Man - A Portrait of Louis Wiesenberg, the Artist

Milton Clark Avery

The subject of this drypoint is the artist Louis Weisenberg, who was a fellow member of the Croquis Club, "a class without instructors," who had died in 1943.

Una Johnson writes on page 115 of her book "American Prints and Printmakers," published in 1980 by Doubleday: "Not until 1948 did Milton Avery seriously consider the printing of the drypoint plates he had completed more than a decade earlier (1935). At this time Chris Ritter, a friend of Avery's and the Director of Laurel Gallery in New York City, selected five plates for one of the Laurel portfolios. One of Avery's (drypoints) was included in the second portfolio.

The fourth portfolio was composed entirely of Avery's prints, issued in an edition of 100 in 1948. They were printed at Atelier 17 under the supervision of Stanley William Hayter and contained five of Avery's finest prints. Ironically enough they found no sale even at twenty-five dollars."