LITHOGRAPHY

Evening Post, Volume CXX, Issue 125, 22 November 1935, Page 4

LITHOGRAPHY

AS A FINE AST

INTERESTING EXHIBITION

of Ail art exhibition of an unusual] ast kind is to be opened tonight in the ;hc Whitmore Street Gallery by Mr. D. A. er, Ewen, president of the New Zealand' •ne Academy of Fine Arts. This exhibition he comprises 72 lithographs, a collection ivs belonging to the Senefelder Club, Lonon don, which organisation has arranged for the display in the Dominion's "to ma"l centres. Many people, including I S 3 artists, have but a small idea as to in what beautiful work is being produced sre at the present day in this department •as °f graphic al' t' hence this splendid colby lection of lithographs should prove to be of exceptional interest. The exhibire- tion should do much to stimulate a fit greater mterest in a branch of art o£ which hitherto, perhaps, has not been ■al valued as highly in New Zealand as its as merits deserve. 1S The art of lithography was invented lI" by Alois Senefelder (1771-1834), a Gerx- man musician who although not an nt artist himself realised its potentialities. a~ It first blossomed as an art on the Conic tinent between 1820 and 1850, and in 0 England and America it had its ie devotees. It then passed for a time iJ* into the control of large firms "who U employed artists knowing nothing of iy lithography to design for them, and tn lithographers knowing nothing of art to copy the designs on stone or metal plates." A revival of the art commenced towards the end of the jr nineteenth century, and this resulted " in the formation, in 1910, of the Senefelder Club in London. Mr. A S =f Hartrick, R.W.S., Mr. F. E. Jackson, and - Mr. J. Kerr-Lawson were the prime ~ movers and original members. Shortly * afterwards they were joined by the late Joseph Pehnell, who became the * club's first president. Its primary object was, of course, the advancement ~ of the art of lithography, and to that =" end it has held annual exhibitions in *~ London. The club has also arranged exhibitions of lithography throughout -• Great Britain and in various parts of ° the world. These exhibitions have •* been of considerable help in increasing ;° the interest in this beautiful art. Anr other object of the club has been to n stimulate appreciation in lithography LR among the art-loving public and by lj| enlisting lay members at an annual « subscription, which entitles them to > receive signed proofs specially drawn L'- by a member of the club, and not n obtainable by the public. 3 THE LITHOGRAPHIC PROCESS. c Lithography, as its name implies, y was first practised upon stone, and 5t the best results are still achieved in 3 . this way, although for commercial it purposes aluminium and zinc are now 1- most often used. The stone, a hard d limestone quarried in large slabs i. about four inches thick, has its sure face ground perfectly smooth and finished with a high polish. It can be used in this condition for some purposes, but for drawing upon with 2- chalk it requires -to be grained, two c stones being turned face to face and I- ground together with a mixture of o fine sand and water in between. The n process is, in its essentials, a chemical a one, and depends upon the antipathy a of grease and water. It is found that ?, the slightest touch of grease upon the c stone exercises a permanent effect i- upon it, and this effect can only be :s removed by grinding away the surface, d Wherever the stone has not been acted a upon by the grease it retains. its d normal properties, among them being :t a capacity to absorb water. H, then, a it drawing is made upon it, using a 0 chalk which has a large proportion of y greasy material in its composition, wherever this chalk touches the stone :- the grease takes effect. The colouring c matter in the chalk has no effect upon r the surface and can be washed away a with turpentine, but the effect of the t grease is still present, although it may i, ot be seen. If the stone is then f ponged over with water it will bo i- noticed that the parts where the chalk ■r has touched repel it by virtue of their 1 greasy nature. A roller charged with i a special ink incorporating some 5 grease can now be passed over the j stone and the ink will adhere to the ' greasy parts, but will in its turn be repelled by the wet parts of the stone. It will be seen, therefore, that it is possible to build up a thin layer of printing ink upon the design which was first drawn with the chalk. The remainder of the stone is kept damp during inking and printing by repeated sponging. Printing paper is laid on the inked stone and the whole is put through a special type of press wherein the slab of stone is forced under . considerable pressure past a fixed scraper which presses the paper into firm contact with the wet ink. For the next print the stone is again I damped and rolled up with ink as before. When this collection of lithographs wat on view recently in Wanganui, local leaders in art circles, with commendable enterprise, arranged for a practical demonstration of the process to be given in conjunction with the exhibition, with the result that people were attracted in large numbers. The taking of similar steps in Wellington is under consideration, and it would certainly be very interesting and instructive if such a demonstration could be arranged. ARTISTS AND SUBJECTS. I The artists in lithography contributing to this exhibition include the following:—Celia Bedford, E. Blampied. Lily Blatherwick, Joan Bloxam, Frank Brangwyn, W. Colley, John Copley, Lewis Croke, A. Dallas, H. Daumier J. Filton, F. Foottett, Ethel Gabain (Mrs. John Copley), James Grant, P. M. Hallward, J. McLure Hamilton, H. G. Hampton, A. S. Hartrick, Elsie Henderson, Clarke Hutton, F. E. Jackson, Augustus E. John, J. Kerr-Lawson, A. R. Laird, Fautin Latour, Vincent Lines, | lE.I E. MacKinnon, A. Raine-Barker, C. H. | ! Shannon, J. A. Shepherd, F. H. Spear, | G. Spencer-Pryse, B. Tarmay, L. Thomson, and M. Utrillo. Many of these ! artists, such as Frank Brangwyn and Augustus John, have a world-wide reputation.

The subjects cover an exceedingly wide range. There are the big posterlike effects achieved by G. SpencerPryse in subieets symbolising parts of the British Empire, and there are prints with the delicacy of fine etchings, some in a distinctly humorous

vein such as "The Cocktail," by E. Blampied, which shows three puppies who have inbibed a little more than their weak heads can stand. Nearly every one of these interesting lithographs repays careful study.