Arms, John TaylorBiblio.com
Arms, John TaylorBiblio.com
Triangular Bridge Crowland
1941ref. 24961941. Good. Etching on delicate antique laid paper image 5/16 x 1/2 inches 8 x 13 mm; plate 2 3/4 x 5 70 x 127 mm; sheet 4 x 5 inches 101 x 128 mm full margins. Signed in pencil in the lower margin. In good condition with minor mat tone inside the platemark. An astonishing work in miniature. Fletcher 362. The print depicts the Trinity Bridge in Crowland Lincolnshire-a unique 14th-century fourteenth-century triangular bridge that formerly spanned the confluence of the River Welland and a tributary. Arms was famously obsessive about architectural detail often using sewing needles and magnifying glasses to achieve the minute textures seen in the stonework and the neighboring buildings. This piece is occasionally found on a single sheet alongside another 1941 etching Pátzcuaro Michoacán Mexico Fletcher 361 as Arms sometimes printed smaller subjects together before cutting the plates. Born in 1887 in Washington DC John Taylor Arms studied at Princeton University and ultimately earned a degree in architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1912. With the outbreak of W.W.I Arms served as an officer in the United States Navy and it was during this time that he turned his focus to printmaking having published his first etching in 1919. His first subjects were the Brooklyn Bridge near the Navy Yard and it was during his wartime travel that Arms created a series of extraordinarily detailed etchings based on gothic cathedrals and churches he visited in France and Italy the plate for Guardians of the Spire was created in 1921. He used what was available to him namely sewing needles and a magnifying glass to create the incredibly rich and fine detail that his etchings are known for. Upon his return to New York after the war Arms enjoyed a successful career as a graphic artist created a series of etchings of American cities and published Handbook of Print Making and Print Makers Macmillan 1934. He served as President of the Society of American Graphic Artists and in 1933 was made a full member of the National Academy of Design. Arms died in Fairfield Connecticut in 1953. unknown
Rob Zanger Rare Books LLC · United States$150.00≈ €134.01
