Leonard Baskin (American, 1922-2000). "The Knight" woodcut on paper, n.d. Artist's signature, title, and "proof" handwritten in pencil beneath image. A remarkable proof by Leonard Baskin entitled "The Knight" displaying the helmeted head of a knight in profile facing left surmounted by a human skull and flowing plumage. Baskin exaggerates the visor of the helmet to dramatically extend outwards to a tapered point, resembling the beak of a bird. This is one of 22 woodcuts Baskin made as illustriations for "The Presumption of Death," a collection of poems by Anthony Hecht (American, 1923-2004). "The Knight" is rendered with Baskin's characteristically intense vision and impressive scale, set in a custom frame, and hand signed. A museum-quality piece by the legendary Leonard Baskin who was a creative force for more than 5 decades. Size of image: 7.2" W x 12" H (18.3 cm x 30.5 cm) Size of frame: 16.8" W x 22" H (42.7 cm x 55.9 cm)

Leonard Baskin was a 20th century "Renaissance Man" if you will; he was a highly respected sculptor, printmaker, writer, and watercolorist. His themes 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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#173802

Artist's signature, title, and "proof" handwritten in pencil beneath image. Set in matte and frame with suspension wire on verso for display. A few nicks to periphery of frame, but print is in overall excellent condition. Has not been examined outside of frame.