35. Leonard Baskin
(1922-2000)

Bird-Man

(click on image to print)
Baskin, Bird-Man

Bird-Man

Color etching, 90 x 149 mm., Fern N.D. A very fine impression printed in red and blue on blue laid paper appliquéd onto a sheet of cream laid paper, signed in pencil and annotated “proof.” While Baskin essayed the subject of the creature, half-man, half-bird, many times, in different media and of different composition, this particular image does not appear in the catalog of his prints. Beautifully and fantastically drawn, the creature is not merely a winged man as his face and head also have bird-like features. And the complex printing technique, with the two color inks on the same plate, and the blue paper cut to precisely the size of the plate to inlay perfectly in the larger sheet, show the artist in masterly control of every detail of creating a printed image.