1944

 

Double click on image to enlarge.

“Dear Mr. Marxhausen, Fred Geary's print “Merry Go Round” was a gift through the American Institute of Graphic Arts. It was part of a group of impressions that were shown in the Ninth Exhibition of Fifty American Prints. The exhibition was shown in New York at the Society of Illustrators, 128 East 63rd Street, New York, Oct. 10-22, 1944. The exhibition later traveled in Europe and was shown in England, France and Switzerland. 

This information is from our accession books. The dimensions of the print are: Image: 9 1/8 x 13 3/8 in. (23.2 x 33.9 cm)    Paper / Sheet: 10 7/8 x 14 15/16 in. (27.7 x 37.9 cm)                                             

I hope this information can be helpful for your research. 

Sincerely, Alvaro G. Lazo, 

Print Collection, New York Public Library, 

alvaro@nypl.org (via email May 25, 2010)

comparisons

Print makers of Geary's day used similiar scenes and approaches. Compare the following prints. Was Fred Geary inspired by a fellow print maker's composition? It is possible. You compare and decide. What do you conclude?? Double click on image to make larger.

 

 

 

ABOVE--Bread Line, New York by Claire Leighton, wood engraving, 1932, 12 x 8 inches (courtesy of American Art Review, Vol.20, No.4, 2008, The Graphic Work of Claire Leighton by Jonathan Stuhlman and Caroline Mesrobian Hickman, page 79, accessed August 27, 2012)
NEXT--The EL (NYC) by Fred Geary, wood engraving, 1930-1946, 6 1/4 x 7 inches (courtesy of Fred Geary: Missouri Master of the Woodcut by Joan Stack and Jean Ann Ferguson,The State Historical Society of Missouri, 2012, page 37,accessed August 27, 2012 )

ABOVE--Landing by Claire Leighton, wood engraving, 1931, 8 1/4 x 12 1/2 inches (courtesy of American Art Review, Vol.20, No.4, 2008, The Graphic Work of Claire Leighton by Jonathan Stuhlman and Caroline Mesrobian Hickman, page 75, accessed August 27, 2012 )
NEXT--Saw Mill by Fred Geary, wood engraving, 1930-1946, 8 x 10 1/2 inches (courtesy of Fred Geary: Missouri Master of the Woodcut by Joan Stack and Jean Ann Ferguson,The State Historical Society of Missouri, 2012, page 29 ,accessed August 27, 2012 )

ABOVE--In Boonville by Jim Edd Spenser, linocut, 1929, 4 3/4 x 5 1/2 inches, (Jim Edd Spenser Linolum Cut File courtesy of Missouri Valley Special Collections, Kansas City Public Library, 14 West 10th St, Kansas City, MO, accessed June 24th, 2010)
MIDDLE--Little Cottage by Jim Edd Spenser, linocut, 1928, (Jim Edd Spenser Linolum Cut File courtesy of Missouri Valley Special Collections, Kansas City Public Library, 14 West 10th St, Kansas City, MO, accessed June 24th, 2010)
BELOW--Log Cabin by Fred Geary, linocut, 1930-1946, 8 3/4 x 11 1/2 inches (courtesy of Fred Geary: Missouri Master of the Woodcut by Joan Stack and Jean Ann Ferguson,The State Historical Society of Missouri, 2012, page 75, accessed August 27, 2012)

 

ABOVE--Winter by J.J. Lankes, (Fine Prints, Vol.1, No.2, January 1932, Alden Galleries and John F. Bender, courtesy of Missouri Valley Special Collections, Kansas City Public Library, 14 West 10th St, Kansas City, MO, accessed June 24th, 2010) 
MIDDLE--Winter Day by Herschel C. Logan, blockprint, 1930, 9 x 12 inches (courtesy of The Prairie Print Makers by Barbara Thompson O'Neil and George C. Foreman, second printing 1984, Gallery Ellington, page 42, accessed August 27, 2012)

NEXT--A House In Carrollton by Fred Geary, linocut, 1930-1946, 4 3/4 x 7 1/4 inches (courtesy of Judith Delaney, Superintendent, Carrollton R-7 District Office, 103 East Ninth Street, Carrollton, Missouri, accessed August 27, 2012 )
BELOW--Winter Scene by Fred Geary, wood engraving, 1930-1946, 7 1/4 x 11 inches (courtesy of Fred Geary: Missouri Master of the Woodcut by Joan Stack and Jean Ann Ferguson,The State Historical Society of Missouri, 2012, page 27, accessed August 27, 2012)

Largest Collection of Geary's Work on display

"Steamboats churning up water, dusk-lit circus tents and dilapidated Midwest houses are but a few of prolific artist Fred Geary’s subjects exhibited at the State Historical Society of Missouri. With 64 woodcuts and engraving prints, SHS has the largest collection of Geary’s work, 14 more than what is housed at the Library of Congress." Read more click HERE. Double click on image to see it larger.











FRED GEARY: Missouri Master of the Woodcut  exhibit 
"Missouri artist Fred Geary became actively involved in the nationwide woodcut revival of the 1930s and 1940s, and the Society's collection of over fifty graphic masterpieces reveals his exceptional skill in the medium."

The exhibit will run through April 2012 in the Corridor Gallery, at 1020 Lowry Street, on the University of Missouri campus. Hours are Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. and Saturday 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

(courtesy of Columbia Daily Tribune, http://m.columbiatribune.com/news/2011/jul/24/exhibit-proves-missouri-artist-geary-was-a-cut/, accessed Monday, August 22, 2011; and the State Historical Society of Missouri, postcard received Monday, August 22, 2011)

Geary woodcut images on Flickr

Click HERE to view Fred Geary work on Flickr.

picture across the room

I walk into my local library, and over there in the corner I come face to face with a black and white image on cream colored paper. It is not a drawing. It is not a Photo Shop concoction. It is not painted. It is not a watercolor. What am I looking at? Four things come to mind. First, there is excavation involved. Think about scratches dug into plank of wood. Second, there are steps followed each time an image is made. And after all those steps are carried out the image can be seen. Third, there are particular steel tools used. Fourth and lastly, the artist must give it her approval. It must measure up. It must be dark enough, light enough. Without the approval of the artist, the print is worthless. It usually has a signature in pencil at the edge of the print.

An inked print is not a xerox, not a mechanical multiple, not a photocopy. It is labored over, fretted over, and deemed as a precious, glorious creation.

To gain some appreciation for Geary's craftsmanship, I have taken some close ups of his Bullfight scene courtesy of the Carrollton Public Library. and added some of my own comments.(left) See the bullfighter. The solid black background is black ink rolled onto a wood plank. Paper is placed on the inked wood.The back of the paper is rubbed down. The paper is pulled up off the plank and the image transfers to the paper. Now, the white area around the bullfighter has been dug out of the wood, extracted. If you look at the outline of the bullfighter's head and shoulder, you will see tiny white lines. Those are scratches into the wood. Look at his cape. Those cross hatched white lines are scratches into the wood. The dark areas are not scratched or left alone.

The next closeup (right) is an arena in shadow. The railing, the people seated, the columns of the balcony are tiny thin scratches on the plank of wood.


(left)
The thick horizontal line at the top is the edge of the print. There is a flag, two open arches, the hint of a wall, and horizontal lines up in the sky. The two open arches are dug out of the plank. The white area around the thin flagstaff and flag are dug out of the plank. The horizontal lines in the sky represent atmosphere, perhaps clouds.


The thick border (right) is the edge of the print. The white columns and railing are precisely plowed out from the plank with a steel tool. The seated figures are both silouette and have tiny scratches. See the atmosphere created above.

(left) The word "Caudrillas" had to be carved in reverse, because the printed image is all in reverse. So, if you have words in your design they need to be in reverse when you dig in the wood.




(right) There are various kinds of texture. Some shadows are solid black. Some have parallel lines. Other areas are solid white.

(left) The bull is a solid silouette shape in black. Tiny thin scratches create the impression of muscles. Cross hatching along the edge of the bull's shadow softens the edge of that shadow. Many details that don't just happen, the wood engraver puts them exactly as they are. To add to this discussion and give some insight to this medium I have asked Abigail Rorer to share her thoughts.

KM: If you would, please: Say something about the discipline required to do wood-engraving or woodcuts. As an artist in that medium, what problems are there to solve?

AR: I am a wood engraver. Wood engraving is a finer medium than the woodcut in that you get a lot more detail because you use the endgrain of a hard wood like boxwood or maple and you use engraving tools such as the burin and graver instead of curved gouging tools. It is a relief medium because the ink is rolled out on the surface then printed. Some of the issues that need to be decided as one engraves are working out textures and image edges with white lines or black lines, whether to stipple or cross-hatch and basically remember that everything taken away will print white. It is a very exacting and slow process and requires a steady hand and sharp tools. It is also very meditative when one is engraving.

KM: What problems do the handling of the tools or materials present?

AR: As mentioned before, your tools need to be sharp or you will slip all over the place. Plus the tools need to be adjusted to fit your hand. It takes a lot of practice to get to the point of a sure and steady hand. Everyone slips and there are various methods of repairing those errors depending on the extent of the mistake. Sometimes the wood will warp so you have to store the wood carefully. You also need to wear a magnifier because the lines are so fine. Printing the engraving also presents a lot of issues. It can be done by hand (rather difficult) or with a press. The main thing is not to fill the very fine lines with ink and to get a nice solid black.

KM: Unlike drawing, where you can immediately put down your impressions on paper, how do you go about creating a design and work it out on the wood surface?

AR: I work out the composition before hand, transfer the sketch to the block, then use pen & ink to complete the drawing on the block. I then tone the block with a sepia ink so that, when engraving, any lines that I cut will show up lighter than the block and I can see what I'm doing.

KM: Myself, generally, I paint rather quickly and prefer not to stretch the project out forever. It is my understanding that an engraver is in it for the long haul. I am guessing you don't jot scribbles down and willy-nilly scratch random marks, and then say "Good, I'm done with that." Am I right?

AR: Every engraver is different - there are some that engrave as you describe above - quickly jot down a rudimentary sketch then engrave in a free-form manner. I am totally the opposite - my engravings are extremely detailed and I am in it "for the long haul" as you say.

KM: How, then, is an engraving different from crayon scribbles on paper?

AR: The discipline, limitations of the medium, and the skills needed to get an image on paper; it's time-consuming and requires a lot of practice.

KM: In an other example, I tell my students at school that I am always doing "homework" on my paintings. They look at me funny, like grown ups don't do homework like they do, but, really, we as artists do, don't we? Not settling for a ho-hum presentation, but that which stretches and builds up our skills.

AR: I guess you could call it "homework" but it's almost like "life's work" in that we live and breathe our work 24 hours a day almost. If not doing it, then we're thinking about it or constantly observing, however unconsciously, the world about us and getting inspiration, and we're always perfecting our skills and technique.


KM: To make this kind of art, Geary followed certain steps, used steel tools, and spent lots of time digging in wood to make each print. Abigail, where can people go to see more of the wood engraving you do?

AR: My website is: www.theloneoakpress.com


Bullfight by Fred Geary. Image measures 8 by 11 1/2 inches. Printed on yellow-tinted paper. Courtesy of the Fred Geary Print Collection, Carrollton Public Library, 1 North Folger Street, Carrollton, Missouri

who?

Who can track the life of an artist? Who would want to? An artist's life is FLUID. This much can be said about Fred Geary. He worked in Kansas City. He was active in the art community of the Fine Art Institute, which always consisted of a pocket of people doing, learning, teaching art. The structure of that institution changed location through the years, but at its core, it was people lending a hand to build, encourage, share "what you know" with another, have moments of "creating art apart from the community," and then rejoining, sharing, and expounding on each other's work, critiquing as it were, laughing, hanging out, being a part, being affiliated with relationships. (Below photo, west side of Kansas City, near Alta Vista, where The Kansas City Society of Artists once met--future post is promised)

Records are scarce. WHO was in WHAT group? WHERE did they gather? All very fluid. The artist's life. Here, Geary's name is given credit for the Institute Brochure, when the school was still at the Phil R. Toll home, on the southwest corner of Warwick and Armour Boulevards.

"Interest in the Art Institute was increasing, as was enrollment. In 1922, a brochure listed classes in design, illustration, interior decorating, costume design, fashion, wood carving, drawing, lettering, commercial art, sculpture and industrial art. There were also special classes in jewelry, home crafts such as batik, gesso, lamp shades, ceramics, weaving, basketry. The catalogue was profusely illustrated with examples of student art including work by Ruth Alexander, Illah Marion Kibbey, Lora Wilkins, Fred Geary, Doris Prat, Gene Thornton, Leroy D. MacMoris, L.F. Wilford, Delle Miller. Costs were day classes, per week, $3.50; evening classes, per week, $1.50; children's classes, Saturdays, 50 cents; holiday classes Sunday mornings, 60 cents." (A History of Community Achievement 1885-1964 by Mazee Bush Owens and Frances S. Bush, page 9, accessed from Jannes Library, Tuesday, August 3rd, 2010).

Geary took part in the Midwestern Artist Exhibitions in 1929, 1931, 1932, 1934, 1936, 1939, 1941, and 1942 (Midwestern Artists' Exhibition of 1928 by Cynthia Mines, Kansas City Art Institute, 1920-1942, accessed from Kansas City Public Library, accessed Saturday, February, 20th, 2010).

He was the treasurer of the Kansas City Society of Artists in 1933.(Fred Geary, Missouri Wood Engraver by E.H. Deines, 1946, unpublished, page three, courtesy of Ms. Jane Metz and the Carrollton Public Library, Carrollton, MO, accessed January 10, 2010)

All the while he was rooted in daily graphic art assignments through the Fred Harvey Company at the UNION STATION where he has his studio. (Below photo, printed label of his studio location, attached to backside of framed print in Carrollton Public Library,
Fred Geary collection)


It's like the "Missouri Art Icon," Thomas Hart Benton. It is a given that Benton talked with students in his painting class while at the Kansas City Art Institute. He listened to the ideas of fellow faculty members. He invited persons of like-minded interest over to his house for social interaction. He was on the same committee as Geary when Graphic Art entries were being selected for the 1939 World's Fair held in New York City. Still, it is difficult to peer into "the-unseen-world-of-artists-forming-relationships" and then "map out" how they grew in their own work because of their interactions with those they admire. Geary had this, I am sure. This blog will explore the facets it can find. The rest of it will be left to another to find, to savor, and publish his or her findings.

K.M.

Questions

In a newspaper clipping dated January 21st, 1949, Miss Eunice Goodson gave a talk about Fred Geary to members of the Carrollton chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. She said that Geary "received distinction when he was selected as the regional judge for art work to be displayed at the World's Fair in New York. He also had work on display there."

Hello, my name is Karl Marxhausen. When I moved to Carrollton, Missouri in 1990 from California, I knew nothing about the wood engraver Fred Geary. After reading the file clipping on Geary (above), taken from the Carrollton Public Library, questions rose in my mind. How did someone get picked to jury art for the World's Fair? It seemed to me that you would have to know something about art in a given region. I did some digging of my own and learned this from researcher David J. Cope in Pennsylvania.

"At 1939 World's Fair there was an American Art Today exhibit with a catalogue. Copyright May, 1939. The United States was divided into regions. Each region was represented with "painting, sculpture, and graphic art." Region 2 included the states of Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, and a sub-class which included Kansas, Nebraska, North and South Dakota, and Arkansas. The four Graphic Arts representatives from Missouri were Ernest Hubert Deines, Fred Geary, John de Martelly, and Rossiter Howard, Chairman. There were 22 other people in Graphic Arts in Region 2. There was a Preview committee on which Thomas Benton served. The Preview committee met at the Kansas City Art Institute. Both Deines and Geary exhibited one piece at the World's Fair. Deines' entry was a wood engraving entitled "Pippins Comes Down," No. 888. It looks like an apple orchard. Geary's entry was a linoleum print entitled "On The River," No. 925. It looks like a steamboat on the Missouri or Mississippi River." Mr. Cope, who owns that same catalogue, confirmed that the image above was the same linoleum print of Geary shown in the catalogue.
"So glad I could help you. Here is the bibliographic information - this was a hardbound catalogue of the exhibit at the fair, black and white pictures only: "American Art Today" was published by National Art Society, Blanchard Press, New York, May 1939."
(email to Mr. Marxhausen, Friday, January 22nd, 2010)
Thanks to Paul M Van Dort for his help also.

Kansas wood engraver Ernest Deines wrote a paper on Geary, in the Public Library collection file. In his remembrance he made this curious observation: "In a print entitled "The Chickens," a side-glance was given to Agnes Miller Parker's rhythmic style - an English woman's smoothly designed handling." With more digging, I wondered how Geary might have seen the wood engravings of Ms. Parker who hailed from Scotland?

The Challenge by Agnes Miller Parker, wood engraving print

I wondered, what if Geary's interest in xylography was not born out of isolation? This blog will hold findings along this line on thinking. I welcome your insights and comments.