{"id":454,"date":"2019-02-22T15:54:15","date_gmt":"2019-02-22T23:54:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eportfolios.capilanou.ca\/coraliemayertraynor\/?p=454"},"modified":"2019-02-22T15:54:15","modified_gmt":"2019-02-22T23:54:15","slug":"leonard-baskin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eportfolios.capilanou.ca\/coraliemayertraynor\/2019\/02\/22\/leonard-baskin\/","title":{"rendered":"Leonard Baskin"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Leonard Baskin\u00a0(1922 \u2013 2000) was fine artist, illustrator, writer and teacher. He strongly thought figurative art was superior, and this belief can be seen in his work throughout his career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“Self Portrait as a Priest” (1952)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Baskin was born in New Jersey, and at age seven he moved to New York with his family. Wanting to be a sculptor, Baskin studied at the New York University School of Architecture and Applied Arts from 1939 to 1941. In 1941, he won a scholarship to Yale university and studied there for two years. While he was there, he discovered and was deeply impressed by the illustrated books of\u00a0William Blake.\u00a0Baskin decided to learn to print and make his own books, and subsequently founded Gehenna Press in 1942, one of the first fine art presses in the US. His press printed over 100 books and ran until Baskin’s passing in 2000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“White Man Runs Him” Lithograph by Leonard Baskin, 1974. <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Baskin served in the US Navy at the end World War Two, and then moved to the Merchant Navy. Upon his return, he studied at\u00a0The New School for Social Research, obtaining his B.A. in 1949.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From 1953 until 1974, Baskin taught printmaking and sculpture at\u00a0Smith College. During this time (1956), his first\u00a0solo exhibition was at the\u00a0Boris Mirski Gallery\u00a0in Boston.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Anatomist 1952 Leonard Baskin. Presented by the Museum of Modern Art, New York.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In 1974, Baskin moved to Britain to work with his friend\u00a0Ted Hughes. They collaborated on several works, including\u00a0A Primer of Birds (1981).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1984, Baskin returned to the US and taught at\u00a0Hampshire College\u00a0(Massachusetts).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Portrait of an Irishman, Sean O’Casey. L. Baskin, 1952.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Many of Baskin’s works are now owned by many major museums including the\u00a0Metropolitan Museum of Art, the\u00a0Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the\u00a0Museum of Modern Art, etc. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Baskin passed away in 2000, and the Art Institute of Portland has a memorial to him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Cheyenne Woman, lithograph, 1974. Many of Baskin’s works were in Black and white exclusively, but I personally appreciate his bold and flat approach to using colour. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Cited:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Leonard_Baskin<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/www.davidsongalleries.com\/artists\/modern\/leonard-baskin\/portraits\/portrait-of-an-irishman-sean-ocasey\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/www.tate.org.uk\/art\/artists\/leonard-baskin-700<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Cheyenne Woman in the Robes of a Secret Society<\/a><\/blockquote>