Listed Australian/British Artist: 1874-1947
Signed: signed lower right in pencil by the artist
Title: known as "Bluebell wood" - ca.1920
Sight Size: w. 6 in. by h. 6 1/2 in.
Recently Framed & Matted: with archival, rag content and acid-free materials throughout
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A Note of Interest: This authentic hand-pulled print by noted woodcut artist John Hall Thorpe is not often found on the open print market and should be considered an uncommon and somewhat rare copy in very fine fresh and clean condition.
Interesting fact discovered: In our continued research on John Hall Thorpe hand-pulled prints we have discovered that a few of the prints found for sale on the art market are signed in pencil, "Original woodcut", (titled placed in centre), "By Hall Thorpe". It's believed that some woodcuts signed in this fashion were produced posthumously after his passing as the signature style does not match Thorpe's and are in fact not signed by John Hall Thorpe at all.
These prints also have a "©" copyright symbol located somewhere on the colour portion of the print which is not usually found on any other authentic Hall Thorpe woodcut prints. The giveaway here that it is not an original hand-pulled woodcut by Hall thorpe, is the fact that no genuine artist or printmaker, including John Hall Thorpe, would sign their work with the phrase 'Original woodcut" and then "By Hall Thorpe".
The makers of these prints are in fact telling it "like it is". It may indeed be from a woodcut created originally by Thorpe and they also testify to that fact by signing in pencil "By Hall Thorpe". So, the print would certainly be truthful in stating that it is from an original woodblock created "By Hall Thorpe". What they are not letting you know is that, it was produced after his passing and is in fact not signed or printed by the artist himself. Also, signing a print in pencil is an artist's signing technique which makes this method of signing, used here in this instance, something to be quite suspicious of, and is absolutely misleading to a potential purchaser as being produced by the hand of the artist. Which it was not. Print collectors seeking original works by John Hall Thorpe should use caution.
John Hall Thorpe was born in Victoria, Australia in 1874. He was apprenticed in Sydney to John Fairfax and Sons where he learned drawing and wood-engraving. He was a member of the prestigious Australian artist's association, the Sydney Society of Artists.
In 1902 Hall Thorpe went to London, England and worked as an artist for several newspapers; where he also continued his studies at Heatherley’s and at St. Martins School of Art.
Hall Thorpe’s coloured woodcuts date from the early 1920's and the context of his work from this period was very much one of interior ‘house decoration’ with woodcuts of gaily coloured vases of flowers and other objets d'art.
In London, Hall Thorpe exhibited at the Royal Academy and the Royal Society of British Artists and held a one-man exhibition at the Kensington Fine Arts Society Gallery in May 1918. Interestingly, several of his woodcuts were produced under American copyright.
Today, his woodcuts are represented in the collections of: Victoria and Albert Museum, London; British Museum, London; Australian National Gallery, Canberra; Art Gallery of New South Wales and the Ballarat Fine Art Gallery, Victoria.
John Hall Thorpe passed away in 1947.
Print Ref No: 9TEE12EB-S/TTOEX
Updated July 25, 2024 |
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