Clare Leighton (British/American, 1898-1989) Bread Line, New York Wood-engraving, 1931-1932, a fine impression on wove paper, signed, titled and numbered 28/100 in pencil, with margins, framed Block 300 x 202mm (11 3/4 x 8in) Sheet 374 x 282mm (14 3/4 x 11 1/8in) Footnotes: Born in London in 1898, Clare Leighton trained at the Slade School of Art under Henry Tonks before studying wood engraving at the Central School of Arts and Crafts, where she was taught by Noel Rooke. She quickly established herself as one of the leading British practitioners of the medium, producing more than 840 wood engravings alongside paintings and illustrated books. Leighton was particularly drawn to scenes of physical labour, depicting farmers, fishermen, dockworkers and other working communities with a combination of close observation and finely detailed craftsmanship. Her celebrated books, including The Farmer's Year (1933), established her reputation as an artist of rural life, while her work also reflected her interest in the social and industrial landscape. She first visited the United States in 1928 on a lecture tour and returned permanently in 1939, settling in the country whose landscapes and working communities would become an important source of inspiration. Bread Line, New York, made during the Great Depression, is a striking example of her engagement with urban as well as rural labour, depicting unemployed men queuing for warmth beneath the towering skyscrapers of New York. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing