A Virginia Garden (from the Bicentennial Pageant of George Washington portfolio)

 

William Auerbach-Levy

  1889 - 1964 (biography)

1932  

etching 

13 1/2 x 9 3/4" image 

pencil, lower right 

1000 

titled in pencil, ll 

 

antique white laid; "GW" & Washington coat of arms watermark 

published 

George Washington Memorial Association; edited by John Taylor Arms 

5384 

$225.00 

This etching, 'A Virginia Garden', was included in the 1932 Bicentennial Pageant of George Washington, (also called “The Life of George Washington) was edited by John Taylor Arms; 1932; printed in England by Henry E. Carling on laid paper with watermarks “GW” (George Washington's monogram) and an eagle and shield coat of arms handmade at Head Mill, Maidstone, England and published by the American Art Foundation in an edition of 1000 (plus 20 artists’ proofs). 'A Virginia Garden' depicts Martha Washington and George Washington are strolling through a private garden in Virginia and was included in the 'Bicentennial Pageant of George Washington' portfolio, 1931. It is monogrammed in pencil, lower right and titled in pencil lower left in an unknown hand, signed and dated in the plate; printed by Peter Platt and/or Henry E. Carling; etching on laid paper with eagle & shield and "GW" watermarks. The marketing for the portfolio read: “The American Art Foundation has the honor to announce Twenty Masterpieces in Etching each executed by one of America’s most distinguished artists.” Originally commissioned by private investors, each artist was asked to complete a piece relating to George Washington, his private and public life. The respective artist signed each print in the portfolio at the time of issue, and the entire set bears those original signatures. Included among the artists are: William Auerbach-Levy, Ralph Boyer, Samuel Chamberlain, Kerr Eby, Sears Gallagher, Childe Hassam, Arthur William Heintzelman, Eugene Higgins, Earl Horter, Robert Lawson, Allen Lewis, F. Luis Mora, Robert H. Nisbet, Louis C. Rosenberg, Ernest David Roth, Albert Sterner, Walter Tittle, Levon West, J.W. Winkler, and George Wright. It is of interest that all of the artists were confined to a specific subject and to a specific format and all of the prints included in the portfolio tend, in my opinion, to be amongst each artist’s weakest works.