Block Prints by Latham

         Barbara Latham (USA, 1896-1989) was born in Massachusetts but ended up spending most of her adult life in New Mexico.  She was a painter and illustrator, but also made block prints and wood engravings.  I’ve selected a few that I particularly like.  Up first is one that I think shows Latham’s illustrator sensibilities.  The scene here hints at a story, and the pretzel woman definitely looks like a character.  I like the contrast between the crowd of baby carriages implying the presence of children, and the fact that we actually don’t see any babies or children anywhere.  There’s 

an affectionate humor in this scene.

         If you want to see children, how about this charming family of bears?  It’s adorable, but perhaps the most interesting thing is the textures of the rocks.  You can see clearly the distinctive marks made by the multi-line tools unique to wood engraving, but Latham has gone above and beyond the usual in the sorts of patterns and textures she’s created with these tools.  Although on the whole I really love my rubber block prints for myself, I do have a bit of envy when I see what’s possible with the medium and tools of wood engraving.

        These geraniums are a linoleum block print rather than a wood engraving, and although it still has plenty of fine lines and details, you can see that this piece doesn’t have that almost fuzzy appearance imparted by the engraving tools.  The thing I find most interesting about this piece is how the shadows 

on the wall and the shaded side of the window frame are printed much more lightly than the heavy blacks of the rest of the piece.  The most staightforward method would be simply to press more lightly on the areas where she didn’t want the ink as dark.  That’s hard to control, however, so she may also have used a mask of some sort to lift a bit of excess ink off the selected areas.  In any case, I love the depth it adds to the piece.

        I couldn’t find a clearer image of this last piece, but I wanted to include it anyway because I love the warmth and light of it.  The woman sits in the evening contentedly darning a sock in a cozy corner.  The lamplight glows, throwing the shadows 

around the woman like a dark blanket.  Here I’m envious once again because I think lighting is one of my weaknesses in my own pieces.  I always love to see it done beautifully.

        Latham may perhaps illustrate the fact that illustrators tend in general to get less acclaim than straight “Fine Artists,.”  Nevertheless, although hardly a household name these days, she had a long and successful career in her time.  There’s one more fun tidbit I want to share about Latham and her art — but you’ll have to wait for another post to see it!

[Pictures: In the Park, wood engraving by Barbara Latham, c. 1937 (Image from Old Print Gallery);

The Bear Family, wood engraving by Latham, 1937 (Image from Amon Carter Museum);

Geraniums, linocut by Latham, c. 1934 (Image from Philadelphia Museum of Art);

Lucy, wood engraving by Latham (Image from The Owings Gallery).]