High Skies
date: label: Date made
content: ca 1925
label: date made
content: ca 1922
name: label: maker
content: Gearhart, Frances H.
notes: label: Description
content: "High Skies" is a color woodcut by Frances Gearhart (1869-1958) which probably dates to the 1920s. She worked almost exclusively with landscape subjects in the woodcut medium, inspired by the nature surrounding her California home, which she shared with her artist sisters, May and Edna. "High Skies" has a vertical composition, with the sky occupying most of the print, and a very distinct foreground, middle ground, and background. Grassy fields and a small stream make up the foreground, giving way to a small cluster of trees casting a heavy shadow in the middle ground. More trees run across the horizon, silhouetted in blue against a brilliant green and blue sky full of swirling white clouds. The black outlines and black border are part of the key block, which she printed last. A technique commonly employed by Japanese masters, thus evidencing her influence from eastern aesthetics, a key block is meant to sharpen the appearance of the shapes and colors of a print. In "High Skies," it also gives the impression of late afternoon, creating dark and dramatic shadows.
label: Description
content: Although she eventually worked full time on her printmaking, Gearhart, along with her sisters, taught in the Los Angeles public school system. As her career progressed, she became more involved in the local artistic community. In 1919 she joined the Print Makers of Los Angeles, later renamed the California Print Makers Society, which exhibited the work of U.S. and international artists. In 1923 the three sisters opened a small gallery in part of their home studio in Pasadena, where they showed primarily international artists' work, including many woodcut artists. Unfortunately, her failing eyesight forced Gearhart to give up printmaking in the 1940s.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
topic: label: Subject
content: Landscape
setName: label: See more items in
content: Work and Industry: Graphic Arts
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content: Communications
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content: Art
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: GA.13360
label: catalog number
content: 13360
label: accession number
content: 70155
objectType: label: Object Name
content: print
label: Object Name
content: relief print
label: Object Name
content: Print
label: Object Name
content: block print
label: Object Type
content: Woodcut
label: Other Terms
content: Print; Relief; block print
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: paper (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: ink (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: image: 22.4 cm x 23.2 cm; 8 13/16 in x 9 1/8 in
label: Measurements
content: sheet: 31 cm x 29.5 cm; 12 3/16 in x 11 5/8 in