Ross, John and Joffe, Sam – The Art of Fruit Desserts – Artist Book. Ross, John (American, 1921- ) High Tide Press, 2003. Prints by John Ross: Recipes by Sam Joffe. East Hampton. New York. 2003. Signed by John Ross and Sam Joffe on the copyright page. Also signed by Sam Joffe on the last page along with the edition number 11 of 36 in pencil. Book measures 11.75" x 9". Cloth easel case measures 15” x 9”. In good condition.

Fruit wrappers used on the title pages are from Florence, Italy, and collected in 1958 and 1959. Collagraphs, printed from collage plates made from mat board, fabrics and other materials glued together with acrylic polymer gesso. Printed on 2 ply Rising museum board. Quotations and recipes are printed on Lenox 100 paper. Quotations are printed in Garamond Italic and recipes are set in Helvetica Lite. Both fonts are from the linotype machine. All images and text are printed on a Vandercook 219 proof press in the East Hampton print workshop of the High Tide Press. Sam Joffe printed some of the recipes, while most were printed by John Ross. Binding by James DeMarcantonio of wooden boards imitating fruit crates and two metal ring binding holders at the top. The back is double green cloth board joined with cloth which allows the book to stand upright to see the recipes (while cooking!). The metal rings allow the pages to turn easily. In a dark green cloth thick board slipcase with slips for the two metal rings. An edition of 36 copies signed by John Ross. Charming quotations relating to a specific fruit by many poets through the ages precede the sections on the various fruits. Contents include sections on the apple, banana, blueberry, cherry, lemon, orange, peach, pear, plum, pineapple, and strawberry, "A mutual passion for fruit pastries and cakes led Ross and Joffe to collaborate in this tribute to fruit desserts. The idea is simple; make a book that combines the art of printmaking and the art of baking. “Sam is the baker, the recipes are his. John is the artist-printmaker, the visual images are his. Working together for the past three or four years has enabled both of them to appreciate the problems as well as the joys of their separate endeavors, a humbling yet gratifying experience." - Introduction by Ross & Joffe.

From Johnrossprintmaker.com: John Ross, painter, printmaker, and Professor of Art at Manhattanville College, also teaches printmaking at The New School in New York City. He has served as president of the Society of American Graphic Artists, and is active in a number of art organizations. He has illustrated many books with drawings and prints. Ross has had over sixty one-man shows and is represented in the permanent collections of the National Collections of Fine Arts, Hirshhorn Collection, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Library of Congress, Dallas Museum, the Smithsonian Institution, Philadelphia Public Library, Cincinnati Art Museum, and in many university and college collections. He has exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the White House, and in many traveling exhibitions to scores of foreign countries, and he spent nine months as artist in residence with the United States Information Agency Exhibition, "Graphics U.S.A.," in Yugoslavia and Romania, giving lectures and demonstrations.

From AnnexGalleries: John Ross, painter, printmaker, author, and educator, was born in New York City on September 25, 1921. Ross studied at Cooper Union School of Art in New York from 1939 to 1948 with Morris Kantor and Will Barnet, and received his Bachelor in Fine Arts degree. He attended Parson School of Design in New York in 1939, and, in 1949 Ross studied at Ecole des Beaux Arts in Fontainebleau, France. He returned to New York in 1950, where he furthered his art studies at the New School for Social Research under Antonio Frasconi and Louis Schanker, and at Columbia University. John Ross was a Professor of studio art at Manhattanville College in Purchase New York between 1964 and 1986. He designed the BFA program and served as chair of the art department from 1966 to 1972. Ross also taught printmaking at the New School University in New York City for over fifty years. He produced nineteen artist's books which were published by The High Tide Press, as well as The Complete Collagraph (1980), The Complete Screen Print and Lithograph (1974), The Complete Relief Print (1974), The Complete New Techniques in Printmaking(1974) The Complete Intaglio Print (1974) and co-authored with Clare Romano, The Complete Printmaker (1972). Ross was a member of the Society of American Graphic Artists and served as president of the organization. He was also elected Academician in the National Academy of Design in 1983. He received numerous accolades for his work, which included the Louis Comfort Tiffany Grant for Printmaking in 1954; MacDowell Colony Fellowships in 1977, 1976, 1978, 1982, and 1987; the National Arts Club Printmaking Award in 1995, the Shatalov Prize from the National Academy of Design in 2001; and the Society of American Graphic Artists Award in 2005. Ross has had over sixty one-man shows and is represented in the permanent collections of the Boston Public Library, Cincinnati Art Museum, Dallas Museum of Art, Hirshhorn Museum, Library of Congress, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Morris Museum, National Academy of Design, New Jersey State Museum, New York Public Library, Newark Museum, Newark Public Library, Oklahoma Arts Institute, Philadelphia Public Library, Smithsonian Museum of American Art, Victoria and Albert Museum, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Whitney Museum of American Art, and in many university and college collections.