Title: Gothic Magic, A.D. 1941. (The East Liberty Presbyterian Church, Pittsburgh.)
Artist: John Taylor Arms (1887-1953)
Etching, 1941.
Edition 44.
Signed and dated in pencil. Inscribed "Trial Proof I. II" and "Private Collection 'Q'."
Image size 15 3/8 x 17 13/16" (39.2 x 45.3 cm).

#364 in "John Taylor Arms : A Man for all Time" by William Dolan Fletcher.

John Taylor Arms was one of the more famous printmakers of the first half of the twentieth-century. He is well known for his medieval architectural etchings and precise realism. From his prints one can see his belief that Gothic architecture was man's greatest achievement. Throughout his career he produced over four hundred prints, wrote and illustrated numerous books, on both travel and printmaking, including Churches of France; Hill Towns and Cities of Northern Italy; Design in Flower Arrangement; and a Handbook on Printmaking and Printmakers.

As a printmaker, he was mostly self-taught. Even so, his expertise as an etcher was without equal. He would often hone down photograph needles to create lines that need high powered magnification to see. The effect is to give the gothic architecture a texture and a feeling of life that few others could achieve.

John Taylor Arms was a member of the Chicago Society of Etchers, the Print society of England, the Canadian Painter Etchers, the Associe de la Society des Beaux-Arts, Paris, and served as the president of the Society of American Etchers (now known as SAGA) two times once in the 1920 and again in the 1940s. It is also important to point out that he was highly regarded by his fellow artists.

Condition: Very good condition. No tears or stains.