Chinatown Home

 

John William Winkler

  1894 - 1979 (biography)

c. 1935 (printed ca 1978) 

etching 

10 1/8 x 6 1/16" platemark 

pencil, lower center 

 

initialled in the plate, lower right; pencil editioned; titled and dated in unidentified hand, lower left sheet edge 

Winkler checklist 23 

soft cream wove 

 

artist 

23537 

$350.00 

An elegant image that emphasizes John William Winkler’s keen understanding of light and shadow, this untitled piece, sometimes referred to as “Chinatown Home” as it is likely of such a dwelling in San Francisco, is simple in subject but complex in execution.

Four men play cards at a table in a large and sparsely furnished room. Long shadows in rich black criss cross through the image, cast by evening light. The eye of the viewer is drawn from the shadowed ceiling to the silhouette of a sofa or other item in the foreground; the windows are tall, and the room appears as though it would echo.