
Description
Rare Carol Summers, American (1925 - 2016) Color Woodcut on Paper "Untitled" Signed and Numbered 23/75.
Acquired at an auction in 2020. Provenance: J. L. Hudson Gallery, Detroit, Michigan.
Carol Summers has worked as an artist throughout the second half of the 20th century and into the first years of the next, outliving most of his mid-century modernist peers. He was born in 1925 in New York. Initially trained as a painter, Summers was drawn to color woodcuts around 1950 and it became his specialty thereafter.
Over the years he has developed a process and style that is both innovative and readily recognizable. His art is known for it's large scale, saturated fields of bold color, semi-abstract treatment of landscapes from around the world and a luminescent quality achieved through a printmaking process he invented.
Summers produces his woodcuts by hand, usually from one or more blocks of quarter-inch pine, using oil-based printing inks and porous mulberry papers. His woodcuts reveal a sensitivity to wood especially its absorptive qualities and the subtleties of the grain. In the majority of his woodcuts, Summers makes the blocks slightly larger than the paper so the image and color will bleed off the edge. By the 1960s, Summers had developed a personal way of coloring and printing and was not afraid of hard work, doing the cutting, inking and pulling himself. Summers passed away in 2016 and is now known as one of the foremost printmakers in America. Summers has had one-man shows at the Museum of Modern art, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and the Brooklyn Museum. Many museums also hold his works in their permanent collections, including the Art Institute of Chicago, the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, The Brooklyn Museum, The Library of Congress, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, among many others. He has also received many awards and fellowships, including the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship, the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Fellowship, the Fulbright Grant for study in Italy, and an Honorary Doctorate in Fine Arts at Bard College.
Condition:
Alterations: Original Condition Unaltered
Imperfections: Some Imperfections
Condition Notes: Excellent used condition. This piece has been recently professionally re-framed. Some wrinkles in paper existed prior to framing.
Dimensions:
Height: 42 in.
Width: 42 in.
Depth: 0.75 in.
Category: Original Prints
Origin: United States
Materials: Paper, Plexiglass, Wood, Woodcut
Shipping:Domestic: Flat-rate of $322.00 to anywhere within the contiguous U.S. International: No International Shipping for this auction. Combined shipping: Please ask about combined shipping for multiple lots before bidding. Location: This item ships from Denver, CO
Your purchase is protected:
In the rare event that the item did not conform to the lot description in the sale, Chairish Auctions specialists are here to help. Buyers may return the item for a full refund provided you notify Chairish Auctions within 5 days of receiving the item.
Acquired at an auction in 2020. Provenance: J. L. Hudson Gallery, Detroit, Michigan.
Carol Summers has worked as an artist throughout the second half of the 20th century and into the first years of the next, outliving most of his mid-century modernist peers. He was born in 1925 in New York. Initially trained as a painter, Summers was drawn to color woodcuts around 1950 and it became his specialty thereafter.
Over the years he has developed a process and style that is both innovative and readily recognizable. His art is known for it's large scale, saturated fields of bold color, semi-abstract treatment of landscapes from around the world and a luminescent quality achieved through a printmaking process he invented.
Summers produces his woodcuts by hand, usually from one or more blocks of quarter-inch pine, using oil-based printing inks and porous mulberry papers. His woodcuts reveal a sensitivity to wood especially its absorptive qualities and the subtleties of the grain. In the majority of his woodcuts, Summers makes the blocks slightly larger than the paper so the image and color will bleed off the edge. By the 1960s, Summers had developed a personal way of coloring and printing and was not afraid of hard work, doing the cutting, inking and pulling himself. Summers passed away in 2016 and is now known as one of the foremost printmakers in America. Summers has had one-man shows at the Museum of Modern art, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and the Brooklyn Museum. Many museums also hold his works in their permanent collections, including the Art Institute of Chicago, the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, The Brooklyn Museum, The Library of Congress, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, among many others. He has also received many awards and fellowships, including the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship, the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Fellowship, the Fulbright Grant for study in Italy, and an Honorary Doctorate in Fine Arts at Bard College.
Condition:
Alterations: Original Condition Unaltered
Imperfections: Some Imperfections
Condition Notes: Excellent used condition. This piece has been recently professionally re-framed. Some wrinkles in paper existed prior to framing.
Dimensions:
Height: 42 in.
Width: 42 in.
Depth: 0.75 in.
Category: Original Prints
Origin: United States
Materials: Paper, Plexiglass, Wood, Woodcut
Shipping:
Your purchase is protected:
In the rare event that the item did not conform to the lot description in the sale, Chairish Auctions specialists are here to help. Buyers may return the item for a full refund provided you notify Chairish Auctions within 5 days of receiving the item.
Condition
Original Condition Unaltered; Some Imperfections; Excellent used condition. This piece has been recently professionally re-framed. Some wrinkles in paper existed prior to framing.
Buyer's Premium
20%
Original Signed Carol Summers "Untitled" Rainbow Woodcut, Framed
Estimate $2,130-$6,380
Starting Price
$1,700
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Vintage & Design Auction
Mar 13, 2026 6:00 PM EDTNew York, NY, United States
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