David Blackwood: Master Printmaker - Hardcover

Gough, William

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1552975363 ISBN 13: 9781552975367

Publisher: Firefly Books Ltd, 2001

Synopsis

David Blackwood: Master Printmaker is a stunning retrospective of the major works of one of Canada's most talented artists. Born in Wesleyville, Newfoundland, Blackwood grew up in a family with a long seafaring tradition. His great-grandfather was a captain; his grandfather was in command of the S.S. Imogene; and his father was a skipper in the fisheries. A strong history of oral narratives and the values of an active outport fuse with Blackwood's talent to produce works of art that speak in a unique voice.

David Blackwood: Master Printmaker brings together 135 of the artist's most evocative etchings, reproduced in outstanding color on high quality paper. The book's large format grants each work a 10 1/2" x 11" page for generous viewing, and each print is accompanied by concise commentary by novelist, poet and fellow Newfoundlander William Gough. The artist himself has also contributed explanatory text to accompany a series of working prints. A chronology covers the highlights of the artist's life and work, and novelist Annie Proulx (Shipping News) offers a moving appreciation of the artist in the foreword.

Newfoundland still considered itself a country when David Blackwood was born. People were united by their love for the sea and their total dependence upon it, and community ties ran deep and strong. Whether depicting the exhilaration of a ship's safe return from sea, the tragedy of lives lost to an angry ocean, or the quiet beauty of waiting at a window for a relative's return, Blackwood's prints are filled with story, drama and the deepest connections to a place and a people.

About this title

Review:

"Sometimes a great artist appears just at the point of historical shift and catches the essence of a region and time... The Newfoundland of boats and cod, of mummers and sealers, the brilliant flags, the hoarse voices of foghorns, ice aloof and jagged, the mug-ups and kitchen times, the coffin in the boat have become inseparable from the name of David Blackwood." -Annie Proulx

About the Author:

David Blackwood has received many national and international awards for his work, including the Order of Canada. He is, with Farley Mowat, the author of The Wake of the Great Sealers, and is also the subject of the National Film Board's Blackwood, which received an Academy Award nomination. His work appears in numerous private and public collections, including the National Gallery of Canada, the National Gallery of Australia, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Uffizi in Florence, the Chase Manhattan Bank, and the collection of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Blackwood's visual archive, recently donated to the Art Gallery of Ontario, will form the basis of a major retrospective of his work in 2003. David Blackwood lives in Port Hope, Ontario, with his wife, Anita, and his son, David. He also maintains a studio in Wesleyville, Newfoundland.

About this edition

• Publisher: Firefly Books Ltd
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 1552975363
• ISBN 13: 9781552975367
• Binding: Hardcover