Sun Over Plow by Frank Eckmair

This is a two-color woodblock print by American artist Frank Eckmair. The image is typical of the artist's work in some ways in that it depicts a rural setting with ramshackle buildings. Most typical is the dramatic use of negative space to define the image. However, there are some very interesting aspects to the work that reflects Eckmair's experimentation in his later works. The image itself in divided into three distinct parts (a wry comment on the Golden Section perhaps?) The lower part is very characteristic of Eckmair's work. It shows a discarded piece of farm equipment and a broken fence surrounded by weeds. A couple of 'Monopoly-style' houses are in the background. The middle image is extremely innovative. Eckmair has used a rough piece of lumbar as the print block. His only modification is the addition of a few houses similar to the lower image. What is very clever is how he employs the grain of the plank to create the illusion of a pond and plowed fields. If that's not enough, he adds a third image at the top consisting of prints generated by using found objects--probably metal. The arched bar seems to represent the path of the sun across the sky. The sun itself is accompanied by several other objects. The one on the left looks like a chassis with wheels leaving the viewer (or at least me) to wonder is this a chariot and is Eckmair using this collection of objects to create the mythologic image of the sun as being a chariot traversing the sky? It's whimsical and thought-provoking at the same time. The size of the three images is 18.5 x 14 inches. It is printed on a large sheet of artist paper measuring 19.5 x 24.5 inches. It is signed FCEckmair in pencil lower right and A.P. (artist proof) is noted in pencil lower center. The print is in pristine condition with full margins, no paper loss, tears, staining, or foxing. A very unusual work by the artist.
Frank C. Eckmair (1930-2012) was a noted artist, printmaker, and teacher. For many years he taught and served as Chairman of the Fine Arts Department at Buffalo State College, Buffalo, New York. His wood engravings and other works have appeared in dozens of books in the U.S. and abroad. His prints are housed in private collections and museums around the world, including the New York Public Library, the Smithsonian Museum, the Metropolitan, the British Museum, Whitney Museum of Art, Achenbach Foundation for Graphic Art, Seoul National Museum, Butler Institute of American Art, the Museo de Arte Costarricense in Costa Rice, Pushkin Museum, Vatican Library, Glenbow Museum in Calgary, and others. Eckmair has been honored with numerous one-man shows. For ten years he served as Art Director at Birch Brook Press.

Size: 1980s
Price: $150
Size: 19.5 x 24.5 inches
Plate Size: 18.5 x 14 inches
Condition: Pristine
Medium: Wood Block Print
Subject: Regionalism/Rural

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