Berta Golahny Works on Paper
Brier Hill Gallery Catalog 2
Berta R. Golahny (1925 - 2005) Our second catalog is devoted exclusively to printed works on paper by the painter, printmaker, sculptor, and educator Berta Rosenbaum Golahny, born to immigrant Jewish parents in Detroit, Michigan. Immersed in the Progressive values of her parents and their circle, she was actively encouraged to develop her manifest artistic talents beginning at the rigorous Cass Technical High School in Detroit, where she won a National Merit Scholarship that funded studies at the Art Students League in New York in 1943 and 1944. There she advanced her skills across a broad range of disciplines, including painting with George Grosz and screen printing with Harry Sternberg. In 1944, Berta enrolled in the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and studied there from 1944 to 1947, earning her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. At SAIC, she met the noted Argentinian etcher Mauricio Lasansky, then The young artist at right, at work on a mural an associate professor of art at the State Unithat she designed representing the four freedoms. versity of Iowa. Lasansky is widely credited for the rebirth of classical intaglio techniques as a vehicle for artistic expression in the twentieth century Americas. Berta quickly grasped the potential of the copper plate, enrolled at the University of Iowa, where she divided her studies between painting and printmaking, and received her MFA in 1950. She was that year’s recipient of the Ben Shahn Award, juried by Shahn himself. In 1950, Berta Rosenbaum married Yehuda Golahny; they moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts and ultimately settled in nearby Newton. In the late 1950s, Golahny began teaching art at the Cambridge Center for Adult Education, and continued there for forty-two years. For the rest Golahny at home in her studio. of her vigorous career, she continued to create paintings and prints that explored her profound anxieties about the state of mankind and the perils of the nuclear age.
Her works are those of a clear-minded, unsentimental observer of the human condition, resigned to the moral frailties of mankind while remaining cautiously hopeful for its betterment. Taken in its entirety, Golahny’s print work is an insightful exploration of mid-century America that calls our attention to the many challenges confronting its founding principles both from within and without. During her long career, she received many awards for her paintings and prints, and exhibited her works widely. Berta Golahny died in 2005 at Newton, Massachusetts.
Berta Golahny was as accomplished a painter as she was a talented printmaker.
Brier Hill Gallery represents the estate of Berta R. Golahny as the exclusive dealer for the artist’s print work. We gratefully acknowledge the support and encouragement of Amy Golahny, the artist’s daughter and Professor of Art History at Lycoming College in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
Berta Golahny is listed in the authoritative Benezit Dictionary of Artists, published by the Oxford University Press. This catalog is published in conjunction with our exhibit of twenty-two works on paper by Berta Golahny at the exposition of fine art, photographs, books, and decorative arts at the Brooklyn Expo Center on September 19 and 20, 2015. The Brier Hill Gallery website will ultimately contain a full inventory of Golahny’s works on paper. This catalog is a representative sampling of that work. The first nine pages of prints in this catalog comprise the works that will be shown at Brooklyn. If you prefer not to receive any further catalogs, please let us know and we’ll remove your address from our mailing list. To protect your privacy, our mailing list is never shared with others. We will appreciate it if you will forward this catalog to friends and colleagues who might be interested in the work of Berta Golahny. We will add their e-mail addresses to our mailing list only at their request. Your comments and inquiries, as always, are most welcome.
Robert Strossi
Brier Hill Gallery Fine Prints, Illustrated Books, and Photographs
151 Corey Street West Roxbury, MA 02132-2339
Telephone 617-469-9669
Mobile 617-775-4355
E-mail: brierhillgallery@rcn.com Website: www.brierhillgallery.com
SELF PORTRAIT Woodcut, 1950; edition not stated, but probably 5 or fewer. Image size 11¾” x 14-3/8”; sheet size 14” x 18½”. Signed by the artist in pencil in the lower margin. Very good overall condition. While her woodcuts were typically executed on more finely grained, smoother blocks, the young artist boldly cut this early Detroit self-portrait on a coarsely-grained plank in order to exploit its arresting texture and to enhance the visual complexity of the image. $750 YAD VASHEM
SOLILIQUY Monoprint etching in purple tones, ca. 1975. Image size 11-7/8” x 1711/16”; sheet size 20” x 25-1/8”. Titled and signed in pencil by the artist in the lower margin. Golahny mixed her own inks and was fascinated by the effects of color on her images. This plate is known to have been printed in several different color combinations, and each impression is unique. A lovely and subtly inked impression in fine overall condition. $900
MAN TRIUMPHANT
Etching with soft ground, ca. 1968; Artist’s proof - edition not stated; image size 11-3/4” x 35-5/8”; sheet size 23¼” x 41-5/8”. The image is comprised of three separate plates. Exhibited by Ainsworth Gallery, Boston; Ohio State University; and Boston Printmakers. Fine. $2,100 THE TYGER Wood engraving, 1967; few impressions. Image size 5-7/8” x 4-7/8”; sheet size 14” x 18½”. Printed by Michael McCurdy at Penmaen Press, Boston. Titled and signed in pencil by the artist in the lower margin. Collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Fine. $250
Woodcut, 1962; edition of 25. Image size 33¼” x 21-7/8”; sheet size 34” x 24½”. A crisp impression titled and signed by the artist in pencil in the lower margin. The margins are very thin but have not been trimmed. A beautifully inked impression. Exhibited by The Boston Printmakers and at Ainsworth Gallery, Boston. $1,200
WHY VIOLENCE? Color etching, ca. 1970. Image size 17¾” x 12-1/8”; sheet size 23-7/8” x 20-3/8”. Titled and signed in pencil in the lower margin. Another of Golahny’s experiments with color. Few impressions were made from this plate. Fine. $750
LANDSCAPE OF MAN IN THE NUCLEAR AGE Etching, 1983; edition of 24. Image size 17¾” x 27”; sheet size 22-7/8” x 33¼”. Titled, numbered 9/24, and signed by the artist in the lower margin. the artist re-worked this plate many times; this is its twentieth and final state. Exhibited at Langdell Gallery, Harvard Law School; Boston Visual Arts Union; University Place Gallery, Cambridge. Collection of the Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University. This is a superb exemplar of the pains taken by Golahny in her presswork.
SELF-PORTRAIT WITH PARENTS Color etching in green and black, 1949; unique artist’s proof in this color scheme. Image size 13¼” x 15-3/16”; sheet size 22” x 30”. Titled, annotated, and signed in the lower margin. An early meditation on the uncertainties facing the post-war world. The contrast between the resolute young artist and her anxiety-ridden parents is a striking commentary on America in the year when the Soviet Union had broken the American monopoly on nuclear weaponry years before such an accomplishment was thought possible. A fine impression in fine overall condition. $1,200 JOY COMETH IN THE MORNING Wood engraving, ca. 1970; edition of 50. Image size 9” x 12”; sheet size 14-5/8” x 20¾”. Printed by David Godine, Newton, Massachusetts. Titled, numbered 33/50, and signed in the lower margin. Widely exhibited. Fine. $500
$1,500 FACTORY ENTRANCE Etching and aquatint, 1948; artist’s proof - edition not stated. Image size 10-7/8” x 8-3/8”; sheet size 17” x 11-7/8”. Titled, annotated, and signed in pencil in the lower margin. This is the only print of this early work known to exist. Very good impression / condition. $750
GENESIS DAY 5 Wood engraving, 1975; artist’s proof - edition not stated. Image size 9” x 11½”; sheet size 12-1/8” x 19½”. Titled, annotated, and signed in pencil in the lower margin. In the collection of the Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University. Fine. $500
LANDSCAPE OF MAN
NIGHT SHINETH AS THE DAY Wood engraving, ca. 1970; edition of 50, the artist’s intpretation of Psalm 139. Image size 9” x 11¾”; sheet size 14-5/8” x 20¾. Printed in dark blue ink by David Godine, Newton, Massachusetts. Titled, numbered 33/50, and signed in pencil in the lower margin. Widely exhibited; winner of the Cambridge Art Association Prize. A fine impression in fine condition. $500
MY FATHER Woodcut, 1953; edition not stated, but likely no more than five impressions were made. Image size 8-7/8” x 11½”; sheet size 12-5/8” x 16½”. Titled and signed in pencil by the artist in the lower margin. Printed on brown paper. A very good impression in overall good condition. $500 MAN Color etching and soft ground, 1968; edition of 20; image size 17-3/4” x 27”; sheet size 22-7/8” x 33¼”. Titled, numbered 9/24, annotated State XX, and signed in pencil in the lower margin. The image was printed using two separate plates. Exhibited at the Boston Printmakers exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. A richly inked, nuanced impression in fine condition. $1,800
Color etching, 1967; edition of 20, but no more than three known to have been printed. Image size 6-3/4” x 10”; sheet size 10-3/8” x 13-7/8”. Titled, numbered, and signed in pencil in the lower margin. Fine. . $500
THE WOMAN
AUSCHWITZ PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST
Etching and soft ground in sepia ink, 1968; Artist’s proof in fine condition. Edition not stated, but only two prints known. Image size 17¾” x 23-7/8”; sheet size 22½” x 30”. Titled, annotated, and signed in pencil in the lower margin. $1,200 THE FAMILY
Etching and soft ground, 1965; edition of 35. Image size 17-5/8” x 23-3/8”; sheet size 22-1/8” x 293/4”. Printed by Lockwood Studios, Boston. Titled, numbered 21/35, and signed in pencil lower margin. Printer’s blind stamps in the lower left margin. Widely exhibited. The plate is missing, possibly destroyed. A nuanced impression in fine condition of this complex and searing exploration of the struggle between inhumanity and the persistence of hope and human dignity exemplified by the fragment of a child’s poem found in one of the camps. $1,800
Etching and soft ground, ca. 1955; artist’s proof Image 7-7/8” x 9-7/8”; sheet size 12-7/8” x 181/8”. Titled, annotated, and signed in the lower margin. The subjects are Berta and Yehuda Golahny and their daughter Amy. Fine. $500
This superbly inked woodcut was printed in dark brown in an edition of ten in 1962. Like many of Berta Golahny’s works on paper, it is a large piece: the image is 15¼” wide and 23-7/8” high on a sheet measuring 25” x 37”. Titled, numbered 3/10, and signed in the lower margin, this formidable work was exhibited at both the Ainsworth and Charles River Galleries, Boston. Like all good self-portraits, it reveals a great deal about its subject. There is no mistaking the artist’s seriousness of purpose, self-confidence, and determination to make her voice heard. Stylistically, it is an inspired homage to the expressionist school of the early twentieth century that nevertheless bears the artist’s unmistakable imprint. $1,500
THOUGHTS ON MAN #3
THE NUN The photographs on the preceding nine pages were made at Brier Hill Gallery in preparation for the Brooklyn exhibit and have also been used to illustrate Berta Golahny’s work on the Brier Hill website. It was therefore possible to verify the fidelity of the color reproduction and to take detailed measurements of both the image and sheet sizes for descriptive purposes. The following images are archival photographs which were taken by the Golahny estate to document the artist’s relief and intaglio print work. We have not yet compared these photographs to the actual prints or taken accurate measurements. The colors of the actual prints may vary somewhat from these photographic images, but in all likelihood the differences will be minor. The stated image sizes are likely accurate, but sheet sizes cannot be determined until the prints themselves can be measured. The individual prints will likely have full margins and will be in fine or very good condition. The print archive has been properly stored and the individual prints carefully handled.
Color woodcut, 1962; edition not stated. Image size 17¼” x 21-1/8”; sheet size 23” x 29-5/8”. Artist’s proof, titled and signed in pencil in the lower margin.Exhibited in the traveling exhibition of The Boston Printmakers. A vibrant impression in fine condition. $750 PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST #2
If you are interested in any of the following items, please contact us and we will reply as quickly as possible with more complete information. Thank you for your patience and understanding.
THE CUP Color etching, 1950; of the prospective edition of 15, only eight proofs are known. Image size 10-7/8” x 177/8”; sheet size 22¼” x 30”. Titled, annotated, and signed in pencil in the lower margin. This work, suggestive of Modigliani, was widely exhibited; in the collection of the Free Library of Philadelphia. Fine. $1,200
Woodcut, ca. 1957; edition of 20. In all likelihood, about ten impressions were made. Image size 19½” x 24-3/4”; sheet size 24½” x 34½”. A well-inked impression in fine condition; exhibited at the Ainsworth Gallery, Boston and at the Boston Arts Festival. $800
Color woodcut; edition not stated, but about nine impressions altogether. Image size 15” x 25”. $500 GIRL WITH FLOWERS
Woodcut, ca. 1955. Edition not stated, but probably five or fewer impressions were made. Image size 5” x 10”. $150
IN MEMORIAM
MOTHER, SOLDIER, WIFE
SYMPHONY Woodcut, 1956. About 5 proofs. Exhibited at Library of Congress and in the Library’s 1957 traveling exhibit. $750
Woodcut, ca 1952; edition not stated, but very few proofs were known to have been printed. Image size 17” x 12” $475 RISING TOLERANCE FOR INHUMANITY
BIAFRA Soft ground etching, 1972; 5 or fewer impressions. Image size 18” x 18”. Exhibited by Boston Printmakers at Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, solo exhibition at Attleboro, MA, and at Ainsworth Gallery, Boston. $700
BEING AND BECOMING Color woodcut, 1956; edition of about seven prints. Image size 15” x 31”. Widely exhibited. $700
Soft ground etching, 1972. 3 proofs known. Image size 16” x 17”. $275
GUITAR PLAYER Woodcut, late 1940s. Three proofs. Image size 12” x 9”. $425
Woodcut, 1992; image size 18” x 27”. One of Golahny’s most frequently recurring themes, executed at different times with pen and ink, oil and pastel, and mixed media in various sizes. Seventeen proofs of this woodcut were produced. It was exhibited at the Cambridge Center for the Arts and at the University Place gallery of Harvard University. $850
THE DOCK
THE WALL THOU HATH TESTED ME
THE WESTERN WALL
Woodcut, ca. 1968. Edition not stated. Image size 20” x 11”; exhibited at Ainsworth Gallery, Boston. $525 THREE CHILDREN
Wood engraving in two colors, ca. 1968. Image size 9” x 12” $375 Woodcut, 1956; edition not stated, but probably ten or less. Image size 12” x 17”. $275 NURSING BABY
Color Woodcut, 1954. Apart from a single surviving proof, edition not known. Image size 3½” x 7”.
AND DEATH SHALL HAVE NO DOMINION
$175
Woodcut on colored paper, ca. 1951, Edition not known, but is likely less than five. Image size 12” x 10”. Only one remaining proof $275
GENESIS DAY THREE Wood engraving, 1975; edition not stated. 9” x 12” overall. Signed and titled in the lower margin. $350
Engraving, etching, and soft ground, 1953 - 1993; edition of about 11 impressions. Image size 20” x 14”. Exhibited at and awarded prize of the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. A very fine example of Golahny’s subtle color printing. $900
Color woodcut, ca. 1960; edition not stated, but no more than ten proofs were probably made. Image size 18” x 27”. $700
Berta Golahny experimented with color throughout her career. Her editions were never large, because she preferred to explore the emotional impact of varying color schemes on a given image, resulting in a small series of monoprints, chromatically unique but united by their common design. Here are three such examples, two of which are included among the images selected for exhibition at Brooklyn:
SOLILIQUY #2
MAN
THE BABY Etching and soft ground in sepia; edition not stated. Image size 25” x 15”. Commissioned by New York City Arts Council and printed by Lockwood Studios, Boston. Collections of Ackland Art Museum, Raleigh North Carolina; Williams College Museum Of Art, Williamstown, Massachusetts; Wichita Art Museum, Wichita, Kansas. PEELING BIRCH
Monoprint etching in red and blue, ca. 1975. Image size 11-7/8” x 1711/16”. $900 DRYING NETS #1
Etching and aquatint, ca. 1965. Image size 10” x 8” with full margins $525
Color etching, 1967; stated edition 20 but few were printed. Image size 6-3/4” x 10”. $500
$900
Woodcut, ca. 1957; edition of about fifteen proofs. Image size 15” x 32”. Exhibited at Ainsworth Gallery, Boston. $750
THE WESTERN WALL 1968
DRYING NETS #2
Hand-colored etching and aquatint, ca. 1965. Image size 10” x 8” with full margins $575
Etching and soft ground, 1968. Edition of no more than three proofs. Image size 18” x 18”. Exhibited at The DeCordova Museum, Lincoln, MA and at the Cambridge (MA) Art Association. $900
THE HUMAN ABSTRACT
MESSIANIC HOPE THE MEASURE OF MY DAYS Color etching and soft ground, 1948; edition of seven proofs. Image size 18” x 13”. Exhibited at Michigan Artists Exhibition and Detroit Art Institute. $575 CHILDREN AT THE FAIR (THE RIDE)
Hand-colored monoprint etching and soft ground, 1968; no more than five versions are known. Also called Tapestry. Image size 18” x 27”. The plate was later cut down to 18” x 25” and printed in fourteen versions. $1,100
WAR (Yom Kippur, 1973) Wood engraving, ca. 1972; edition not stated. Overall size 9” x 12”. Exhibited at Attleboro, MA and by the Boston Printmakers. $275
THE WEDDING
Color etching and soft ground, 1950; edition not stated. Image size 24” x 18”. Widely exhibited, including Brandeis University, Waltham, MA. $825
Color woodcut on colored paper, 1975; edition of eleven proofs. Image size 21” x 36”. Exhibited at Juliani Gallery, Wellesley Hills, MA, Mass Bay Community College, Wellesley, MA. $675
Engraving and soft ground etching, 1974; edition of twenty. Image size 17” x 24”. Exhibited at Boston Printmakers. $675
CHILDREN AT THE FAIR
Color etching and soft ground, 1950; edition not stated but likely fewer than ten proofs were made. Image size 18” x 24” $825 THE EMBRACE
BIRD-MAN
Wood engraving, 1983; edition not stated. Overall size 9” x 12”. Exhibitions include Langdell Gallery, Harvard Law School and the Maliotis Cultural Center at Hellenic College, Brookline, MA $475
Woodcut, 1968; edition of 100. Overall size 20” x 30”. Exhibited at Attleboro, MA; Harvard University; Ainsworth Gallery, Boston. $500
Everyone will be in Brooklyn September 19 & 20, 2015
Our first catalog presents a broad-gauge selection of works from our inventory. View it on line at www.brierhillgallery/publications.
Autumn in New York takes on a whole new meaning. The Brooklyn Expo Center is an ideal setting for the more than 140 exhibitors who will be presenting fine books and prints, photographs, and decorative arts for the second time in this airy, welllighted hall. Our 2014 show was, in fact, the inaugural exhibition for the Expo Center. We have very few complimentary passes left, together with a limited supply of reduced-admission cards. You can also pre-register on line for one day free admission at http://bit.ly/BrklnBAPDBHG
I hope to see you there!
JAMES REID: SELECTED WOOD ENGRAVINGS
Our first limited edition portfolio contains thirty-two original wood engravings printed from blocks cut in 1930 and 1931 by the gifted young artist James Reid. $1,500
General Information All items are subject to prior sale. All items are guaranteed to be as described. Orders may be returned within ten days at buyer’s expense. Prices shown do not include shipping and insurance charges. Unless otherwise requested, orders are shipped via U. S. Postal Service insured Priority Mail. We accept payment using major credit cards, PayPal, or a check drawn on a US bank. Orders picked up at Brier Hill Gallery or shipped to addresses in state will be charged 6.25% sales tax. If such purchases are for resale, please provide Massachusetts resale certificate at time of order. Recognized institutions will be billed Net 30 Days. The gallery is open by appointment; please call or write.
Our logo is a wood engraving by James Reid (1907 - 1989). It is an illustration from The Song of Songs, published in 1931 by Farrar & Rinehart of New York, and is used with permission of the Reid family. It is one of thirty-two wood engravings printed from the original blocks in our limited edition portfolio, James Reid: Selected Wood Engravings, published by Brier Hill Press. Please inquire for more information.
Brier Hill Gallery
151 Corey Street West Roxbury, Massachusetts 02132-2339 617-469-9669 brierhillgallery@rcn.com www.brierhillgallery.com