RARE Original c. 1925 Bertha Lum Chinese Polo Game Mixed Media Collage SIGNED

Description: This listing is for the Rare Original c. 1925 Bertha Lum Chinese Polo Game Mixed Media Collage pictured above. About this work: A rare, original mixed media work by renowned female printmaker and illustrator, Bertha Lum. This large work depicts a group of four Chinese polo players on their horses in mid action. In addition to the players, there is also a bird in the sky and a cat on the field. The animals and people are composed of cut paper that has been laid down to the paper backing. Lum additionally utilized an ink wash/watercolor to divide the two planes in the composition. This work was likely created while Lum was living in California or Peking (Beijing) in the 1920s. She signed the work in the lower right. The work is housed in a custom matting and framed behind UV protective glazing. Provenance: Private collection, MA About the artist (from Annex Galleries): Bertha Lum (1869-1954), printmaker and illustrator, was born in Tipton, Iowa and spent her youth in Iowa and Minnesota. In 1885, Lum attended the Art Institute of Chicago for one year, focusing on design. A few years later studied stained glass with Anne Weston and illustration with Frank Holme. Her honeymoon voyage to Japan in 1903 was the first of many adventures in Asia. Returning to Japan in 1907 for fourteen weeks, she gained an introduction to Bonkotsu Igami, a master block cutter in Tokyo, who disclosed to her the techniques of carving and arranged for her education in block printing. Though married, Lum was fiercely independent and traveled for extended periods of time. Accompanied by her two young children, her 1911 sojourn in Japan lasted six months. By this time she had a thorough understanding of color woodcut and opted for the traditional division of labor. Lum moved easily within Japanese society and hers were the only foreign woodcuts in the Tenth Annual Art Exhibition in Tokyo in 1912. Her color woodcuts were awarded the silver medal at the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition and her work was included in the 1919 Exhibition of Etchings and Block Prints at the Art Institute of Chicago. Lum was in California at the end of 1916 and moved to San Francisco in the fall of 1917, but the following years were interrupted with travel. Her most extensive stay in California was between 1924 and 1927. The 1923 earthquake in Tokyo destroyed most of her blocks and many woodcuts. She authored and illustrated Gods, Goblins and Ghosts in 1922 and Gangplanks to the East in 1936. Lum's work received honors in Rome, Paris and Portugal and is represented in the Library of Congress, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Achenbach Foundation for the Graphic Arts. Lum spent the late 1920s and the 1930s living in Peking, returning to California in 1939. She spent a great deal of time in China between the years 1948 and 1953. She left China, and moved to Genoa, Italy to be with her daughter Catherine. Lum died in Genoa in 1954. Size: 22.5 inches tall by 16.5 inches wide (work by sight) 31.75 inches tall by 24.5 inches wide (frame) Condition: Good antique condition overall. Not examined out of the frame. Scattered light spotting. 1” tear upper left. Minor lifting/creasing to some paper elements. Signature possibly reinforced by the artist or later hand. Some strands loose in matting. Typical wear to frame. It is ready to be displayed and enjoyed! This work will be carefully packed and shipped with insurance and signature confirmation. Free local pick up is also available. International buyers - please note I cannot lower the declared value of the package for customs. I frequently receive messages from people after I sell an item, asking if it is definitely gone. If something catches your eye, don't hesitate to inquire! Feel free to ask any questions.

Price: 1950 USD

Location: Morrisville, Pennsylvania

End Time: 2023-12-05T22:45:37.000Z

Shipping Cost: 0 USD