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Leonard Baskin (American, 1922-2000). "LB AET S 76" woodcut, ca. 1999. Edition 1 of 50. Signed and numbered in pencil below image. Leonard Baskin was a creative force for more than five decades and worked in a variety of media; however, he is best known for sizeable woodcuts like this example. This powerful self portrait depicts Baskin in his seventies, presented bust-length and facing forward, with "LB AET S 76" in red ink across the center, is rendered in the artist's characteristically intense manner and large scale. It is among Baskin's figurative prints that rivaled the works of Abstract Expressionists during his day, set in a custom matte and frame and hand-signed and numbered below the image. Size (sight view): 41.25" L x 30.875" W (104.8 cm x 78.4 cm) Size (frame): 55" L x 43.25" W (139.7 cm x 109.9 cm)

In 2019, the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento, California presented, "A Passionate Muse: The Art of Leonard Baskin" and their press release discussed Baskin's exploration of technique through his self portraits, "Baskin's experiments with technique are often most evident when he chooses to explore himself. Over the course of his career, he returned many times to expressive self-portraiture, creating a series of snapshots that document his progression through life and as an artist."

Leonard Baskin was a 20th century "Renaissance Man" - a highly respected sculptor, printmaker, writer, and watercolorist. His prints included mythological, classical, and biblical scenes as well as portraits and floral studies. Baskin studied at Yale University from 1941 to 1943 and received his B.A. at the New School for Social Research in 1949. He also founded Gehenna Press which specialized in fine book production and taught printmaking and sculpture at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts as well as Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts from 1953 until 1974. Baskin's artworks are in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Museum of Modern Art, the Vatican Museum, the Smithsonian Institute, the Tate Gallery in London, and other elite institutions. His noted public sculptural commissions include pieces for the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial as well as the Holocaust Memorial in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Baskin also received many prestigious honors, such as a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Gold Medal of the National Academy of Arts and Letters, and the Jewish Cultural Achievement Award. He was also honored with numerous retrospective exhibitions at institutions including the Smithsonian Museum, the Albertina Museum, and the Library of Congress.

Provenance: ex-private Bishop Family Trust collection, the Trust of the late Bill Bishop, a noted antiquarian with shops in Scottsdale, Arizona and Allenspark, Colorado, USA, acquired before 2010

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#173157

Signed and numbered in pencil below image. Horizontal crease across the center. Mounted in custom frame and not examined outside the frame. A few minor scuffs to glass. Otherwise, framing is quite nice. Fit with suspension wire. Tag attached to suspension wire lists with a price of $2000.