Willard Clark: Printer & Printmaker

Farmer, David

ISBN 10: 0890135118 / ISBN 13: 9780890135112

Published by Museum of New Mexico Pr, 2008

About this Item

Large hardcover. First Edition of the Expanded, signed by author David Farmer. 4to (8.25 x 11.25 in.). Green cloth over boards with blind-stamped title on cover, silver stamped lettering on spine. Very clean with a tad of sun fading along the top edge. Jacket is tan with image of "The Chimayo Church" in frame with red & black lettering. Mylar covered but does have fading on the spine, making the title difficult to read at first glance. A beautifully produced volume featuring the work of Clark in Santa Fe. Excellent reproduction in color and black & white. Text by noted biblio scholar Farmer, who signed this copy under his name on the title page. Seller Inventory # 000991

Bibliographic Details

Title: Willard Clark: Printer & Printmaker

Publisher: Museum of New Mexico Pr

Publication Date: 2008

Binding: Hardcover

Condition: Very Good

Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good

Signed: Signed by Author(s)

Edition: 1st Edition

About this title

Synopsis:

As with many young artists of the Santa Fe art colony, Willard Clark, the recognized American printmaker, was on his way to somewhere else when he landed in Santa Fe in 1928. He ended up spending a lifetime there creating a unique body of wood engravings. Carving his own wood blocks as illustrations for commercial job printing, Clark’s illustrations and original typographic design came to define the look of Santa Fe as a destination for travelers in the 1930s and ’40s seeking southwestern experiences and colorful locales. Originally released in a hand-bound limited edition, Willard Clark: Printer & Printmaker is being reissued in an expanded trade edition that includes numerous black-and-white and color illustrations of the beautiful woodblock illustrations that made Clark famous. This is the definitive work on Clark and explores both his life and his printmaking. Clark trained at the Grand Central School of Art in New York City and then studied with Charles W. Hawthorne, founder of the Cape Cod School of Art in Provincetown, before moving to study commercial art in Indianapolis. Clark’s training served him well when he became Santa Fe’s fulltime job printer, handling the commercial work for the local hotels, restaurants, and the social and business scene. Included in Willard Clark: Printer & Printmaker are illustrations of his menus, “do not disturb” signs, letterhead, and advertisements, all created with the finely crafted artistic sensibility that came to define the look of Santa Fe and record some of its richest cultural moments. His images: burros laden with wood, Spanish women clad in shawls, adobe churches and village became synonymous with the city, but also developed a new category in American art as well.Collectors vigorously seek Clark’s prints because of their beauty of subject, their artistry, and the technical precision Clark applied to his craft. This book is a must for anyone interested in folk art, printmakers and printmaking, New Mexican art and culture, and the beautiful renderings of internationally renowned artist Willard Clark.

About the Authors:

AUTHOR INFORMATION: David Farmer has lectured widely on books and printing history. He has published numerous articles and books, including a biography of Stanley Marcus and the definitive edition of D. H. Lawrence's Women in Love. He was Director of DeGolyer Library at Southern Methodist University before his retirement to Taos, New Mexico.

David Farmer was Director of DeGolyer Library at Southern Methodist University for sixteen years.