Above the Old Bridge, Ipswich, or Little Venice

ca. 1893–95

Not on view

Part of a series titled "Along Ipswich River," this upright composition echoes Japanese pillar prints and reflects the artist's study of Hokusai and Hiroshige. Dow was one of the first Americans to master Japanese woodblock printing techniques, wedding an admiration for Oriental aesthetics with an English Arts and Crafts sensibility. He called his woodcuts "color themes," and they demonstrate his devotion to Eastern concepts of line, color, and notan–the balance of light and dark. He executed the entire printmaking process by hand, carving and inking the blocks and then printing them sequentially on damp mulberry paper. In this case he uses a linear key block to pull elements together, but often evokes landscape forms simply by juxtaposing color shapes.

Artwork Details

Title: Above the Old Bridge, Ipswich, or Little Venice
Artist: Arthur Wesley Dow (American, Ipswich, Massachusetts 1857–1922 New York State)
Date: ca. 1893–95
Medium: Color woodcut
Dimensions: image: 5 x 2 1/4 in. (12.7 x 5.7 cm)
Classification: Prints
Credit Line: Gift of Mrs. W. L. Putnam, 1942
Object Number: 42.54.2
Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

More Artwork

By Arthur Wesley Dow

In the same medium

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Modern Art

Multiple artists/makers

1895

Little Venice, Arthur Wesley Dow American, Color woodcut; early state, with key block and single color — Little Venice
Arthur Wesley Dow
ca. 1893

Little Venice, Arthur Wesley Dow American, Color woodcut — Little Venice
Arthur Wesley Dow
ca. 1893

Marsh Creek, Arthur Wesley Dow American, Color woodcut — Marsh Creek
Arthur Wesley Dow
ca. 1907

"The Derelict" or "The Lost Boat", Arthur Wesley Dow American, Color woodcut; trial proof of single color block, American — "The Derelict" or "The Lost Boat"
Arthur Wesley Dow
1916

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