Medium: Etching with chîne-collé and hand-coloring
Dimensions: 4 3/8 x 5 7/8 inches (Image) 10 3/8 x 11 inches (Sheet)
Signature: Signed
Artist details: Japanese, 1969
Date finished: 2021
Edition: of 10

Recommended by Catherine (Collections Assistant):
"Mariko Ando's illustrative prints convey a feeling of childlike whimsy, but there is also an air of seriousness from the expressions of her subjects. In this piece, two rabbits are protectively watching over a caged rose on a tumultuous sea journey. Ando's use of color and texture adds so much to the story -- the juxtaposition of the striking colors of the rose and the rabbits' outfits against the hazy sky and the deep, rolling waves highlights the importance of the rabbits' mission to safeguard their precious rose. Perhaps the rose is a metaphor for that sacred thing one protects at all costs, throughout the wild waves and unpredictable currents of life."

Medium: Etching and engraving with hand-coloring
Dimensions: 16 1/2 x 26 inches
Artist details: French, 1592 - 1635
Date finished: 1620
Reference: Lieure 478 (2nd Plate)
Condition: Trimmed to or just within the platemark. Soiled, toned, repairs at fold, and along bottom edge. Significant restoration. Unidentified watermark.

Recommended by Sam (Gallery Owner & Director):
"Callot's rendering of this annual fair near Florence is a masterpiece.  It employs two major contributions the artist made to printmaking.  His introductory use of lute varnish for the protective coating (ground) put on the copper plate before the image mark making.  This material allowed more fine detail and less fowl bite (unintended marks on the plate surface) due to this secure and uniform plate coating.  The artist selectively exposes the plate surface, prior to its submersion in the acid bath for the acid to selectively act on the copper to generate the lines destined to make up the image.  The clean and delicate lines made possible with his discovery, combined with his unique, simplified, gestural drawing technique, allowed for the complexity of this amazing image." 

Medium: Woodcut with hand-coloring
Dimensions: 15 1/2 x 11 3/4 inches
Signature: Stamped signature
Artist details: French, 1868 - 1941
Date finished: 1892
Condition: Faded; mounted

Also identified as Le Depart Du Chevalier.

Recommended by Paige (Collections Manager):
"Émile Bernard was an important and well-connected artist of the late 1800s, though his name is not as well-known. Bernard worked closely with Paul Cézanne, Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, Henri Toulouse-Lautrec and others and is considered a pioneer of several modern art movements. Later in life, he made an interesting turn away from such innovative and experimental modern styles back to earlier imagery, like the High Renaissance. La Mort Du Chevalier has a classical feeling, but with some modern elements, like the coloring and facial expressions. I appreciate Bernard's choice to combine a more traditional style and figures with a newer palette and details – the flowers seem to droop in sympathy with the maiden and she lifts her head to the heavens but keeps her eyes closed."

Medium: Hand-colored etching with chine-collé
Dimensions: 5 x 5 inches (image)
Signature: Signed
Artist details: Japanese, 1969
Date of impression: 2019
Edition: of 20

Recommended by Nikki (Fine Print Photographer & Content Publisher):
"Mariko Ando's fairytale realm personifies a rabbit's life that is seemingly quiet and small. With Ando's careful hand-coloring and delicate etching lines, set against perfectly executed chîne collé, she effectively weaves viewers into the inky lines of the silent rabbit, watching birds fly away from her arms into the open sky. Despite being shy and silent by nature, rabbits are fantastic communicators with their clear body language, eye contact, and behaviors. However, it is easier to notice chirping birds, flying about. Ando understands this and chooses to elevate the rabbit's quiet, but important, life into the sky to be noticed and to fill up space with the birds." 

Series: The Birds of America
Medium: Hand-colored lithograph
Dimensions: 10 1/4 x 6 1/2 inches (sheet)
Artist details: American, 1785 - 1851
Date finished: 1840-1844
Edition: First Royal Octavo
Printer: J.T. Bowen
Publisher: J.J. Audubon
Condition: Original pages with text accompanies the work.

Recommended by Nikki (Fine Print Photographer & Content Publisher):
Herons are solitary creatures who are always watching and observing. They have a dinosaur-like appearance that I feel hints of an ancient wisdom. But when they are disrupted or startled, they become rather clumsy creatures. From the clumsiness of the elegant heron, I am reminded even the wisest have blind spots and things to learn.