Ralston Crawford (American, 1906-1978). "Grey Street" screenprint in colors, 1940. Hand signed and titled in pencil in lower margin. An outstanding impression of this early print of "Grey Street" by Ralston Crawford, replete with vibrant imagery and strong coloration. The scene is rendered in Crawford's classic Precisionist style, employing hard-edged abstraction to interpret his keen observations of the American landscape. Note how Crawford has eliminated any vehicles or pedestrians, and instead, has reduced the view to flat planes of color and minimalist silhouettes of the various elements, albeit with one exception, a lone painterly white cloud in the sky above. Size of image: 11.75" L x 14.75" W (29.8 cm x 37.5 cm) Size of frame: 17.625" L x 21.5" W (44.8 cm x 54.6 cm)

Ralston Crawford moved with his family from Ontario, Canada to Buffalo, New York when he was just four years old. Both his father and uncle were sea captains, and Ralston worked as a sailor on steamships traveling to Central America, the Caribbean, California, and New Orleans as a youth. In time he studied at the Otis Art Institute, Los Angeles, worked in Walt Disney's studio, and studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and Barnes Foundation, Merion, Pennsylvania. Inspired by artists like Cezanne and Matisse who demonstrated a mesmerizing command of line and color, Ralston relocated to New York City in 1930 and became a rising star of the Precisionist movement, creating hard-edged, abstract industrial scenes. After traveling to Paris where he studied at Academie Colorossi and Academie Scandinave as well as Spain and Italy, he returned to the states to study at Columbia University. By the mid 1930s, Ralston lived in Chadds Ford and Exton, Pennsylvania, where he was captivated by the region's train stations, rural barns, and factories. He had his first solo exhibition at the Maryland Institute of Art in 1934, and his work began to receive favorable reviews from The New York Times and the New York Sun. In addition, Ralston taught at the Art Academy of Cincinnati, Buffalo Fine Arts Academy, the Brooklyn Museum School, the New School in New York City, and also made numerous trips to New Orleans to photograph the jazz musicians of that city.

Today, Ralston Crawford is known as one of the most important pioneers of Precisionism. He worked in various media - painting, silkscreen and graphic arts, sometimes incorporating photography or practicing photography as an abstract medium - creating striking mid-century compositions that were somewhat abstract and simultaneously employed his keen observations of the industrial landscape. Ralston Crawford's artworks are in important public and private collections, including the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Ralston Crawford's "Grey Street" realized $9,375 at Swann Galleries (Sale 2407 - Lot 307 - March 8, 2016).

Provenance: Private Boulder, Colorado, USA collection, acquired from Christie's "American and Modern Prints and Illustrated Books" - November 19, 1993, Lot 24

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#170926

Hand signed and titled by the artist in pencil/graphite in the lower margin. The artwork is set in a custom frame under glass and has not been examined outside the frame but appears to be in excellent condition.