Tag: woodcut

Designer Desire: John Frederick Greenwood

Montage of John Frederick artworks

Why have we not heard of him prior to this week?! John Frederick Greenwood (1885-1954) was born in Rochdale – Justin’s home town.

He was a woodcut artist, copperplate engraver, etcher, illustrator and water-colourist (signing his works ‘John F. Greenwood’).

He studied at Shipley and Bradford Schools of Art (1904-08) and at the Royal College of Art in London (1908-11).

For a short while, Greenwood taught at Batley School of Art before moving on to Battersea Polytechnic (1912-27), Bradford School of Art (1927-37) and was Head of the Design School at Leeds College of Art until his retirement in 1948. Greenwood died in Ilkley in 1954.

In 1982, an exhibition entitled Wood Engravings and Woodcuts by John F. Greenwood and his Contemporaries was held at Bradford Art Galleries and Museums.

He beautifully illustrated a number of books including Twenty-Four Woodcuts of Cambridge, A Short History of Ely Cathedral, A Short History of St. Mary’s, Hitchin. In 1952, he authored his own book, The Dales Are Mine, copies of which are currently available on Abe Books and Amazon.

Examples of his work is in the collections of the Ashmolean, Bradford Museums and Galleries, Brooklyn Museum, Leeds Art Gallery and the V&A.

Image credits:
Annex galleries |

Designer Desire: Frans Wesselman

Montage of Frans Wesselman artworks | H is for Home

Frans Wesselman is a Dutch-born, Worcester-based artist. His practice encompasses wood cuts, etchings, watercolours and stained glass. He trained as an art history teacher however, after completing his military service, he attended art college where he majored in photography and printmaking.

He says that his work has been influenced by Picasso and Rembrandt and has gained inspiration from Shakespeare, Chaucer and the Bible.

Art is based in one’s attitude to life, and in both I muddle on, making many mistakes, sometimes getting things right. People are central to my work, which is also based on the close observation of the natural world. Often my paintings, etchings and stained glass tell a story.

He is represented by a number of galleries in the UK including Axle Arts, Bankside Gallery, Bevere Gallery, British Society of Master Glass Painters and Primavera Gallery. Works available range from greeting cards to limited edition woodcuts, stained glass panels to original etchings.

Portrait of Frans Wesselmancredit

Additional image credits:
Frans Wesselman©

Designer Desire: Kiyoshi Saito

Montage of Kiyoshi Saito prints

Kiyoshi Saito (1907-1997) was a largely self-taught Japanese artist. He started out as a sign maker then painter, but found his true calling in woodblock printing.

His blocks were often created out of a single piece of wood, and I love how you can clearly see the pattern of the grain in many of his prints – adding an extra dimension to the of the composition.

He is credited with being one of the founders of the early 20th century Sōsaku-hanga movement where the maker was artist, carver, printer and publisher rather than stages of the creative process being divided up between different craftsmen. In 1967, his woodcut print of Prime Minister Eisaku Sato was the cover image on Time Magazine.

Works by Kiyoshi Saitō are sometimes available on 1stDibs, eBay and Etsy. However, they appear for sale more regularly at auction.

There are two monographs of his work, Wood Cut Prints and Masterful Images: the Art of Kiyoshi Saito.

Saitō’s Atelier-Kan (private studio) in Yanaizu is open to the public; his work tables for woodcutting, engraving knives and other items are displayed and kept just as they were during his own lifetime. A 5-minute walk away is the Kiyoshi Saito Museum of Art whose collection includes around 1,000 artworks and related material.

Portrait of Kiyoshi Saito
credit

Additional image credits:
Mutual Art

Designer Desire: Antonio Frasconi

Mosaic of Antonio Frasconi artworks | H is for Home

Antonio Frasconi (1919 – 2013) was an illustrator best known for his woodcut prints, especially the ones in his award-winning 1950s children’s book, The House That Jack Built, a picture book in two languages. and See and Say, a picture book in four languages. He often produced books in multiple languages; namely English, Italian, French and Spanish. A great way to learn a new language – whatever your age may be!

Frasconi was born in Argentina, grew up in Uruguay and, aged 26, moved to the USA. In addition to his work for children, he produced very political works on subjects such as the Vietnam War and ‘Los Desaparecidos’ (The disappeared), the people tortured and killed during the Uruguayan Dictatorship in the 197s and 80s.

As well as his own books, he designed numerous covers and illustrations for the works of other authors and poets including:

  • Dylan Thomas – Reading a Child’s Christmas in Wales | Narrating Under Milk Wood (LP records)
  • Herman Melville – On the Slain Collegians
  • Walt Whitman – Overhead the Sun
  • Jan Wahl – The Little Blind Goat
  • Ruth Krauss – The Cantilever Rainbow
  • Henri Pirenne – Medieval Cities: Their Origins and the Revival of Trade
  • André Gide – Strait is the Gate | If It Die
  • Glenway Wescott – 12 Fables of Aesop
  • Titus Burkhardt – Alchemy

Antonio Frasconi at work

Image credits:

Invaluable | Pinterest | Moma | Amazon