WILLIAM ZORACH
Mountain Stream.
Linoleum cut, 1916. 274x356 mm; 10¾x14 inches, full margins. Signed in pencil, lower right. A superb impression of this very scarce modernist print.Zorach (1887-1966) completed the majority of his printed œuvre from 1914 to the early 1920s, most reflecting his love of nature or his transcendentalist philosophy (other prints served as announcements or greeting cards). He was often inspired by his summer retreats away from New York. In 1913 and 1914, Zorach and his wife, artist Marguerite, spent their summer in Chappaqua, New York. Their summer destinations also included Randolph, New Hampshire; Echo Farm, Plainfield, New Hampshire; Provincetown, Massachusetts; Stoningtown, Maine; and the island of Robinhood, Maine. The current work is imbued with Zorach's love of the outdoors. Here, six figures appear in harmony with the wilderness, recalling Zorach's words about his summer in Chappaqua, "The country was a new world to me—every flower and every weed was a revelation of color and design. The richness of invention in nature was unbelievable... Flowers bloomed, wildlife carried on, clouds floated, trees designed themselves in the landscapes. Nude figures lay around pools, played with children made love, dreamed."