Stone + Press Publishes the Works of Mezzotint Artist Frederick Mershimer
Dec 14, 2007, New Orleans, LA - The work of Frederick Mershimer, one of the world’s foremost mezzotint engravers, is chronicled in a catalogue raisonné released this week by Stone + Press Gallery. Frederick Mershimer: Mezzotints 1984 – 2006 details the 49-year old artist’s work and influences in a 150-page hard cover volume. Narratives and descriptions provide complete details about each image, including the location and vantage point from which Mershimer conceived the work.
It has been said that Mershimer’s engravings speak to both the grit and grandeur of the modern American city – from the lacy white serenity of a winter garden in Brooklyn to hectic commuters in midtown Manhattan. Reflecting his affection for the South, the book contains six images of New Orleans, part of a series which captures the darkness of the city after hours.
The art of mezzotint engraving dates back to the 1600’s and was the principle means of illustrating books and reproducing portraits. The painstaking process starts with roughening a copper plate, which can take months depending on the size of the plate, and using hand tools to flatten or remove the raised copper burrs. Unlike etching or lithography in which images are created through chemically etched lines, this process allows an artist to create large tonal areas from black to infinite shades of gray to white without the use of any acid. The term mezzotint is derived from the Italian mezza (for half) and tinta (tone). The process lost favor with the advent of faster techniques like photogravure in the mid-1800s.
Compiled and edited by Earl Retif and Ann Salzer, highlights of the book include a conversation with Frederick Mershimer written by Carol Wax, an internationally recognized artist and fellow mezzotint engraver and essays by mixed media sculptor Renee Stout and Fr. Joseph Haller, S.J., curator emeritus at the Georgetown University Art Collection. Mershimer’s mezzotints are in many private and public collections including the Whitney Museum of Art, the Corcoran Gallery, the National Museum of Art, the Smithsonian and New Orleans Museum of Art.
The artist was born in Sharon, Pennsylvania and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting from Carnegie Mellon University. He studied graphics and fine art printmaking at the Parsons School of Design, the Pratt Graphic Center, and the Manhattan Graphics Center.
Frederick Mershimer: Mezzotints 1984-2006 is available in two versions - a regular and a deluxe edition. The deluxe edition is limited to 100 signed and numbered copies and is presented in an attractive cloth case accompanied by an original mezzotint, Into the Night, a New York street scene. To order, contact: Stone + Press Gallery at 504-561-8555; email: info@stoneandpress.com; website: www.stoneandpress.com.
The deluxe edition including "Into the Night" is $600. The regular edition is $60.
