(Scribe writing by sunlight)

Max Pollak

It appears that this was a unique experimental proof, perhaps anticipating an edition that was never realized. It includes aquatint, ink washes, and a candelabra that's been drawn in pencil on the wall to the right, as if Pollak was reworking out his vision on the paper. Perhaps he was contemplating the works of Vermeer or Rembrandt as he createed a painterly composition from the window light. The image itself isn't entirely clear; it is a figure, perhaps a monk, seated in a shaft of light with a pen and a piece of paper.

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.

He 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.