C.R.W. Nevinson: The Complete Prints

Description

C.R.W, Nevinson (1889-1946) is regarded as one of the finest British printmakers of the first half of the twentieth century - admired by contemporaries and modern-day viewers in equal measure. Yet despite this assured reputation, nothing substantial has been published on his remarkable printmaking career until now.Nevinson began creating prints in 1916, only stopping, due to ill health, in 1932. During this period he produced 148 prints, all of which reflecting his distinct vision and outstanding skills as a printmaker. Providing historical and social insights, his body of work is impressive in its range - images depicting the horrors of the First World War sit alongside contrasting cityscapes which present Nevinson's singular interpretation of Paris, New York and London. Drawing on original archival research and including a catalogue raisonne of Nevinson's prints, this unrivalled resource stands as a landmark publication in the literature available on this outstanding British modernist. It is an essential reference volume for all those who collect, sell or study Nevinson's prints and also provides much needed context for those with a general interest in the artist and the period in which he worked.

Dr Jonathan Black is a Senior Research Fellow in History of Art at Kingston University. His numerous publications include The Sculpture of Eric Kennington (2002), Form, Feeling and Calculation: The Paintings and Drawings of Edward Wadsworth (2006), The Face of Courage: Eric Kennington and the Second World War (2011) and (with Sarah Ayres) Abstraction and Reality: The Sculpture of Ivor Robert-Jones (2014). He has also been associated with a range of exhibitions as an adviser, co-curator and curator.

Through an introduction, three essays and an Epilogue, Dr Black takes the reader on the dynamic journey that was Nevinson's printmaking career: from the well known Western Front images, through the vibrant jazz age in New York, and the delights and depressions of post war Paris, to his home town, London, and the tranquility afforded by the English countryside.' British Art Journal, March 2015 'To divide the book geographically then, rather than chronologically, was a good decision, giving the reader not only the information germane to the images themselves, but also a biographical and critical context of the years, literatures and locations in which were conceived and executed. Black is a master of this type of writing, advising us when to look at the medium rather than the subject (he seems to be well versed in the print making processes), allowing us to make comparisons with artists as diverse as Hiroshige, Utrillo, and those of the Norwich School, dotting the text with titbits about locations and individuals [...] and yet keeping the narrative firmly on track by navigating us from print to print. Black's essays also allows us to both rise and fall with the artist, the quality of work being book-ended by the majestic Returning to the Trenches in 1916, and the vacuous Spirit of Progress in 1933.' British Art Journal, March 2015 'Credit is due too to the publishers who have cut no corners whatsoever in creating a large format book (always useful when looking at art), used high quality paper in which every detail is visible, and used colour reproductions where necessary.' British Art Journal, March 2015 'Jonathan Black was the right person to write this book, and I.und Humphries (in association with Osborne Samuel) the right publishers. The combined effort, in the works for a decade or more, is a rare treat. Congratulations to them booth and, somewhat retrospectively, to the artist himself whose reputation as a print-maker is now firmly established as that of a modern master.' British Art Journal, March 2015