Date unknown, 1956: “Ten Years of American Printmaking, 1947 - 1956,” a special exhibition, will open at The Brooklyn Museum on Wednesday, May 2, according to an announcement today (Thursday, April 5) by Edgar C. Schenck, director of the museum. The exhibition will be on view in the second floor print gallerIes and the main entrance hall through July 1.
Commemorating the 10th anniversary of the National Print Annual pioneered by Una E. Johnson, curator of prints and drawings, in l947, the exhibition will comprise two sections. For one section, Miss Johnson has selected 85 outstanding purchase award prints from the past 9 years which form a visual document of the technical strides and expressive advancements of the past decade in the field of American printmaking. The second section is devoted to the 10th National Print Annual of 110 prints representing a cross-section of fine printmaking in all media, from all sections of the United States.
This year's annual was juried by Mrs. Adelyn D. Breeskin, director, The Baltimore Museum; Justus Bier, director, Allen R. Hite Art Institute, University of Louisville and Miss Johnson.
In reflecting on the past decade of printmaking in America, Miss Johnson stated:
“Today, in the United States, some of the most original and creative statements in the field of art are to be found in the medium of fine printmaking. Printmaking has matured beyond the art of anecdote to a full art expression of our time.
“The past ten years have been experimental ones in technical and aesthetic expression and advancement. The recent achievement of combining method and working creatively with newly developed materials has opened new worlds of perception. The recent developments of enhancement of color, of texture, flowing line, changing concept of size in prints and daring combination of printing methods have been of especial consequence in the woodcut, engraving and etching.
“Too, such developments as the magic of color have stimulated the interest of the public in prints, which may well be termed a truly American art expression.”
“Ten Years Of American Prints, 1947 - 1956” will travel in two sections to museums across the country under the auspices of the American Federation of Arts.
Brooklyn Museum Archives. Records of the Department of Public Information. Press releases, 1953 - 1970. 1956, 014-5.
