Lasansky
- from Argentina to Iowa1934 - 1951
Mauricio
Mauricio Lasansky was born in Buenos Aires, Argen5na on October 12, 1914, to Eastern European immigrants. His father was a banknote engraver, and this early exposure to the intaglio medium likely ignited Lasansky's interest in printmaking. He first took up woodcut printmaking before turning to drypoint, and he held his first solo exhibi5on in 1935.
By the mid 1930’s Lasansky had become the director of the Free Fine Arts School in Villa Maria, Cordoba, Argen5na. In this capacity he was introduced to the director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Francis Henry Taylor, in 1941. Greatly impressed with Lasansky’s work, Taylor helped the ar5st secure a Guggenheim Fellowship to live and study in New York two years later. Lasansky was given access to the museum’s en5re print collec5on for his research, and was introduced to the many ar5sts who had escaped war5me Europe. Among them was Stanley William Hayter, the Bri5sh founder of the Parisian experimental printmaking workshop Atelier 17. Lasansky soon sent for his wife and children, and he would remain in the United States for the rest of his life.
In addi5on to his personal output, Lasansky would become one of the most sought-a[er printmaking professors in the United States, known for transforming the printmaking department at the University of Iowa into the best in the American university system. He formed the Iowa Print Group and was instrumental in helping develop the careers of Ernest Freed, John Paul Jones, Lee Chesney, Glen Alps, and many others. He became a U.S. ci5zen in 1952, and though he re5red from teaching in 1986, he con5nued to print, paint, and draw, with an ar5s5c career that ul5mately spanned over 60 years. He would be awarded numerous fellowships, grants, and honors bestowed by ins5tu5ons throughout the U.S. and beyond. Lasansky died in Iowa City in 2012 at the age of 97.
This selec5on of works by Mauricio Lasansky offers a brief but illumina5ng glimpse into the arc of his early career path, showing his stylis5c change from the Machine Age geometry of the 1930s to the energe5c spontaneity of Abstract Expressionism.
Cosecha (Harvest)
Etching, 1934/’35; measurement: 19-1/4 x 17-5/8” platemark; pencil signed, titled, and dated; dedicated “el Amigo Labal” after title; proof, from a listed edition of about five impressions; RARE; printed by the artist on buff wove, mounted on board by artist; reference: Thein/Lasansky 10/Zigrosser 6. Inventory number 22628. $5,550.00
Cadaver
Drypoint (noted in Spanish: “Punta Seca,” lower left), 1935; measurement: 13/7/16 x 11-15/16” platemark; ink signed and dated, lower right ; RARE unnumbered proof, incorrectly listed by Thein/Lasansky as a lithograph (T/L 18; Zigrosser 17); printed by the artist on buff wove. Inventory number 18624. $6,000.00
Tragedia
Drypoint in black and olive inks, 1935/printed by the artist 1980; measurement: 15 x 13/7/16” platemark; pencil signed, titled, and dated; editioned as AP; proof (never editioned; T/L could not recall total impressions); printed on ivory wove simile vellum; reference: T/L 16; Z 15. Inventory number 18627. $3,500.00
Suicidas
Deep bite etching printed in umber and black from a zinc plate, 1935/printed by the artist in 1980; measurement: 11-1/4 x 13-3/4” platemark; pencil signed, titled, and editioned as AP (artist’s proof) from an edition of around 30; printed by the artist on buff laid; reference: T/L 12; Z 39. Inventory number 18626. $3,500.00
Piedad ; or, Pieta
Drypoint printed in green-black ink, 1932 (T/L dates as 1936); measurement: 12-3/4 x 10-1/4” platemark; pencil signed, titled, and dated; editioned 5/6 (T/L lists edition of 10); RARE; printed by the artist on ivory wove; reference: T/L 28; Z 26. Inventory number 22637. $4,500.00
Anunciación
Drypoint, 1938; measurement: 21-7/16 x 20-1/8” platemark; pencil signed, titled, editioned 2/4; RARE; printed by the artist on thick , antique-white wove; reference: T/L 41; Z 38. Inventory number 23075.* $6,000.00
*Note: this work has been restored. Price reflects condition. Contact gallery for details.
Emilia; or, Estudio para un Retrato
Drypoint printed in sienna, black, and cobalt blue inks from same zinc plate, 1940; measurement: 18-5/16 x 12-7/16” platemark; pencil signed, titled, and dated; editioned as 3/3, state i/iii (T/L lists edition of 10 from state ii/ii under alternative title); printed by the artist antique-white laid; reference (first and second states): T/L 43 and 45, Z 43 and 46. Inventory number 23954.* $4,500.00
*Note: this work has been restored. Price reflects condition. Contact gallery for details.
Retrato de Emilia
Drypoint, printed in sienna ink, 1941; measurement: 15-3/4 x 12-3/8” platemark; pencil signed, titled, and dated; dedicated “A. Brandt y senora”; proof, from a total edition of around 10 impressions; printed by the artist on heavy, antique-white wove; reference: T/L 47; Z 47. Inventory number 22387. $7,500.00
La Rosa y el Espejo
Drypoint, printed in sienna and black inks from one plate, 1941/’42; measurement 241/4 x 16-13/16” platemark; pencil signed, titled, and dated ’42 (T/L dates as 1941); editioned 3/5 (T/L lists an edition of 10); RARE; printed by the artist on ivory wove adhered to a cream wove support; reference: T/L 48; Z 48; Univ. of Iowa 1958, fig.3. Inventory number 23955.* $4,500.00
*Note: this work has been restored. Price reflects condition. Contact gallery for details.
Estudio para un Retrato de A.B. (portrait of artist Alberto Barral)
Drypoint, printed in sienna and black inks from same plate, which has been shaped at the top to have rounded corners; measurement: 10-1/4 x 10” platemark; pencil signed, titled, and dated; dedicated to “A.M. Brandt y senora,”; proof; T/L lists an edition of 6 impressions; printed by the artist on buff wove; reference: T/L 50, Z 50. Inventory number 19226. $4,500.00
Barral and Lasansky worked together in Cordoba, Argentina.
Caballos an Celo
Copperplate engraving, 1944; measurement: 13-15/16 x 19-11/16” platemark; pencil signed, titled; editioned 21/50 (Zigrosser lists edition of 25); printed by the artist on cream wove; reference: T/L 58; Z 58. Inventory number 24468. $3,500.00
Near East (Pieta)
Color engraving, etching, soft ground, aquatint, electric stippler, grease ground, deep bite, burnishing, and scraping, printed from six zinc plates and one copper master plate (black ink), 1948; measurement: 19-3/16 x 23-7/8” platemark; pencil signed, titled, and dated; editioned as A/P; printed by the artist on heavy, smooth ivory wove; reference: T/L 86’ Z 82; Univ. of Iowa 1958, fig. 20. Inventory number 22388. $4,800.00
El Pajaro
Engraving and etching with aquatint, soft ground, burnishing, drypoint, and varnish resist, 1948; measurement: 28-13*16 x 22-1/4” platemark; pencil signed and titled; edition 40/50; printed by the artist on ivory wove; reference: T/L 84; Z 80; Univ. of Iowa 1958, fig. 14. Inventory number 22389. $2,500.00
Bodas de Sangre
Color engraving, etching, soft ground, gouging, electric stippler, grease ground, deep bite, burnishing, and scraping, printed from eight zinc plates and one copper master plate (black ink) 1951; measurement: 20-3/8 x 28-11/16” platemark; pencil signed and titled; editioned 17/35 (T/L lists edition of 50); state ii/ii; printed by the artist on heavy, smooth ivory wove; reference: T/L 89A; Z 89). Inventory number 23962. $2,000.00
Copyright 2024 The Annex Galleries