1936 William Mortensen Vintage Photogravure Print Grotesque - HUMAN RELATIONS

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1936 William Mortensen Vintage Photogravure Original Print Grotesque- HUMAN RELATIONS DESCRIPTION : This is an original (not a later reprint) vintage and rare photogravure from 1936 by the famous and controversial photographer William Mortensen. Mortensen named this image HUMAN RELATIONS. Mortensen talks about this photograph as follows: "The beginning of Human Relations was trivial enough. The telephone company overcharged me for long distance calls. I remonstrated, I protested; but in vain. Eventually, I paid the bill and departed, warm with righteous indignation. These were the days when stocks were stopping dividends, when lives of thrift and industry were being wiped out by the foreclosing of mortgages and the closing of banks, when Japan was carving herself a large slice of China. Everywhere there was evident a spirit of "Take what you can, and to hell with your neighbor." Those who were strong seemed to be, in sheer wantonness, gouging the eyes of humanity". This photogravure was printed in 1936 from a 1932 negative. It measures 9" x 12" overall, which includes a border area. The photogravure itself measures 8-1/4" x 10-3/8". It is printed on a light cream, medium weight paper and it is blank on the reverse side. It was added to a spiral bound volume and therefore it has one margin with "teeth" marks where it was removed from the spiral. It is in excellent condition for its age with no damage and has a beautiful tonal range. It is being offered unmatted, so that you can dress it up as you wish with your own choice of matting and framing. Please check our listings for several other William Mortensen photogravures that will be added this coming week!! WHO WAS WILLIAM MORTENSEN :William Herbert Mortensen was born on January 27, 1897 in Park City, Utah to Danish immigrants. Mortensen begain his photographic career taking portraits of Hollywood actors and film stills. In 1931, Mortensen moved to the artist community of Laguna Beach, where he opened a studio and the William Mortensen School of Photography. Mortensen preferred the pictorialism style of manipulating photographs to produce romanticist painting-like effects. This style brought him criticism from straight photographers of the modern realist movement, in particular Ansel Adams, who described Mortensen as the "Devil" and "the anti-Christ". He wrote nine books about technique in photography and in 1949 he was awarded the Hood medal from the Royal Photographic Society. He died in 1965. Recent years have brought praise for Mortensen's development of manipulation techniques and a renewed interest in his work. WHAT IS PHOTOGRAVURE :Photogravure is an intaglio printmaking or photo-mechanical process whereby a copper plate is coated with a light-sensitive gelatin tissue which had been exposed to a film positive, and then etched, resulting in a high quality intaglio print that can reproduce the detail and continuous tones of a photograph. Because of its high quality and richness, photogravure was used for both original fine art prints and for photo reproduction of works from other media such as paintings. Today, photogravure is only actively practiced in several dozen workshops around the world. PAYMENT :Payment is due within 3 days of purchase date. Paypal payments only. SHIPPING :Fast and secure shipping! We ship within 1 day from receipt of cleared payment. Your art print will be carefully packaged using a rigid mailer, 2 cardboard inserts and a crystal clear, acid-free polypropylene bag to protect from any damage and/or bending while in transit.Shipping within the USA is FREE and includes Delivery Confirmation and Insurance. International buyers, please contact me for a shipping rate to your country. RETURNS :We have a hassle-free return policy! If you are not completely happy with your purchase, please notify us before returning. Prints can be returned within 14 days of receipt in the exact same condition as when received and need to be packaged in the same packaging originally used. Return shipping costs are the responsibili... read more

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