Edition 50, 1957. Signed, titled, dated, and numbered '50/50' in pencil.
Image size 11 3/16 x 7 3/4 inches (284 x 197 mm); sheet size 21 7/8 x 14 3/4 inches (556 x 375 mm).
A superb, richly-inked impression, with fresh colors, on off-white, wove paper; the full sheet with wide margins (3 1/4 to 5 3/8 inches), in excellent condition.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Leonard Edmondson (1916-2002) began his career at the University of California at Berkeley, where he earned a Master of Arts degree. After service in the U.S. Army Military Intelligence during WWII, Edmondson embarked on a distinguished teaching career that spanned five decades and culminated in his position as Chair of the art department at California State University Los Angeles (1964-70).
A renowned printmaker whose work was informed by the experimental printmaking techniques of Stanley William Hayter, Edmondson also worked in a range of other media, including oil paint, watercolor, and collage. By 1950, Edmondson’s work had evolved from figurative representation into abstraction, which he cited as a journey of inspiration, discovery, and meaning. His distinctive style is informed by the abstract surrealism of Paul Klee (which he had viewed in Europe during WWII) and the intuitive expressionism espoused by Hans Hofmann. Edmondson's vernacular invokes in his own words ‘almost remembered' forms, feelings, and spaces... My painting is not an art of rebellion but one of discovery and sharing.’
Edmondson’s numerous solo and group exhibitions included shows at many major museums. His is represented in the museum collections of Bibliotheque Nationale (Paris), Brooklyn Museum, California State University; Cornell University; Dallas Museum of Fine Art; Detroit Museum of Art, Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art (Cornell), Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, National Gallery of Art, Oakland Art Museum, Philadelphia Museum of Fine Art, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Seattle Art Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum (London), Worcester Art Museum.
