
Located just a short distance from New York's "Museum Mile," the Park Avenue Armory is a great location for the International Fine Print Dealers Association's annual print fair. I spent six hours on the exhibit floor on Saturday poring over prints from all eras, from works by Dürer and Rembrandt to early Japanese woodblock prints to hot-off-the-press contemporary editions from well-known publishers such as Crown Point Press and Shark's Ink. I learned a lot about printmaking, saw some knockout woodblock prints up close, and overheard some interesting conversations. Following are some highlights from the day.
Women Who MapGiven my obsession with maps, of course I was drawn to any map-like prints that I saw. Two really stood out for me, the work of
Yvonne Jacquette (these are woodcuts):


and the work of
Suzanne Caporael:

lithography and pochoir

woodblock
Arthur Wesley Dow and FriendsThere were many gorgeous examples of some of my favorite early- to mid-20th century woodblock printmakers from the American northeast, including Arthur Wesley Dow, Blanche Lazelle and others. Most of the lovely little Dow woodblock prints I've ever seen have been very intimate pieces, often only a few inches in size. The piece at the top below was on display at the
Hirschl and Adler Gallery booth and was quite large - about 7 inches wide!

Woodcuts by Women: Anne RyanThe Susan Teller Gallery had a wall devoted to modernist woodcuts by women, and I was delighted to be introduced to the work of
Anne Ryan (1889-1954). She made prints on black paper, giving the work great depth and complexity.
Kiki Smith
A book at the
Arion Press booth caught my eye immediately as I walked by, a volume titled "Sampler" which contains 200 Emily Dickinson poems illustrated with images by Kiki Smith. The book was letterpress printed and hand bound in an edition of 400 and it was so hot off the press that Kiki Smith herself had not seen it yet. I was fortunate enough to be present when Smith arrived for her first look, so I was able to watch her face as she viewed the results of many weeks of labor. I think she liked it.
Other Woodcuts of Note
Keith Haring's
TotemThis was huge, framed in 3 pieces, maybe 7 or 8 feet tall.

John Buck's
NeedlesAbout 4 feet high.
I had just one disappointment, which is that
Davidson Galleries of Seattle, although a member of ifpda, didn't attend. They carry some of my favorite contemporary printmakers and I would have loved to have seen some of that work up close.