Spindelmuhle (Spindlermule; Bohemia)

Max Pollak

Max Pollak, in order to get the delicate drypoint lines to print well, collaged a thin sheet of white oriental paper the size of the plate to a heavier sheet of ivory wove paper. This allowed the optimal printing quality but also added the ability for the viewer to handle the work without it folding.

The light 'color' of the snow is created by this thin white paper whereas the cream margins are the heavier 'support sheet.' In the middle-ground he adds four walking figures, which add a sense of scale. Behind them is the village of Spindelmuhle, a forest, mountains, and a dark winter sky, all done using drypoint.

This composition is one of a series of prints Pollak did of winter in the Czech Alps around 1920. Spindelmuhle is a town in Trutnov District in the Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 1,100 inhabitants. It lies in the Giant Mountains and it is one of the most frequented ski resorts in the country.

Max Pollak, painter and printmaker, was born in Prague, Czechoslovakia in 1886. He was raised in Vienna and, in 1902, he entered the Vienna Academy of Art where he studied under William Unger and Ferdinand Schmutzer. In 1912, Pollak traveled to Italy, France, and Holland to study and paint. During the First World War, he was appointed painter for the Austrian Army.

The Pollaks immigrated to the United States in 1927, living for a time on the east coast where he produced a series of color aquatints of New York, Cincinnati, and Detroit. His first exhibition was at the 57th Street Art Gallery in New York and he was commissioned by Theodore Dreiser in 1929 to illustrate his book, 'My City.'

In 1938, Pollak and his wife, Friedl, moved to San Francisco, California. Pollak was inspired by his new city and its environs and produced beautiful views of San Francisco Bay Area. Later travels included trips to Mexico and Guatemala. Max Pollak was a member of the Chicago Society of Etchers and the California Society of Etchers.