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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

Object Information
  • 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

More Artwork
Modern Art, Arthur Wesley Dow American, Lithograph
Modern Art
Arthur Wesley Dow
Printer Louis Prang & Co.
Editor Related editor Joseph Moore Bowles
1895
Powder Horn, Horn (cow), lead, American
Powder Horn
American
18th century
Snake Man, Alison Saar American, Color woodcut and lithograph
Snake Man
Alison Saar
Publisher Vinalhaven Press
1994
The Long Road – Argilla Road, Ipswich, Arthur Wesley Dow American, Color woodcut
The Long Road – Argilla Road, Ipswich
Arthur Wesley Dow
ca. 1898–1912
Man and Two Women (Henderson Ledger Artist B), Frank Henderson Native American, Pencil, colored pencil, and ink on paper, Arapaho
Man and Two Women (Henderson Ledger Artist B)
Frank Henderson
ca. 1882

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