Winter Orchard by Ruth Leaf

This is a beautiful etching and aquatint by American artist Ruth Leaf. It is titled Winter Orchard. Leaf captures the mood by using muted greens and browns to surround the leafless trees of the orchard to give the sense of quiet and dormancy. Still, there is just enough color to imply that life will return soon. The piece is very characteristic of her work, but is one of the larger pieces I've seen by her. She frequently uses this muted palette of colors in her nature work, although she uses the full range of monochromatic to vivid unnatural colors across her prints. This can be seen in our extensive inventory of her work. The piece is signed in pencil lower right, Ruth Leaf. The title, Winter Orchard is lower left and the edition 17/100 is lower center. The plate size is 17.75 x 23.5 inches. It is framed and the frame size is 26 x 32 inches. The piece has not been examined out of the frame, but it appears to be in pristine condition. It is a well-struck and inked impression. There are no condition issues including no fading, toning, staining, foxing, tears, or paper loss. The framing materials are not archival. A beautiful piece by this artist.

Ruth Leaf (1923 - 2015) was a noted female American printmaker. She was born in New York City and studied at several institutions in New York, most notably at Atelier 17 with Stanley William Hayter. In contrast to Hayter and many of his students, Leaf chose to move away from abstract to more traditional subjects. Her subject matter includes landscapes, figures, and architecture. Of the latter, her subject matter is drawn from the New York area, including places like Coney Island. She exhibited extensively across the United States. She received numerous awards, most notably the Edna Stauffer Award from the National Association of Women Artists, a Library of Congress purchase award, and the Tonner Award of the American Society of Color Prints. Her work is held in major collections across the country including the Library of Congress and the Butler Museum. She was a member of a number of print and graphic art societies and was active in influential groups such as the National Society of Literature and the Arts, the Society of American Graphic Artists, and the National Association of Women Artists. She authored an influential text on printmaking, Etching, Engraving and Other Intaglio Printmaking Techniques.

Size: 1980s
Price: $425
Framed Size: 26 x 32 inches
Plate Size: 17.75 x 23.5 inches
Condition: Pristine
Medium: Aquatint Etching
Subject: Landscape

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