WPA LITHOGRAPH Jacob Friedland ~ NEW YORK SLUMS ~ Snow Day 1930s SOCIAL REALISM

Description: A period 1930s Social Realist lithograph titled "Backyards", the work of American artist Jacob Friedland (1897-1974) and it was produced as part of the WPA program of the Great Depression. The lithograph depicts the board fenced backyards of low rent row houses, probably in the Bronx, with children playing with sleds in the snow. It is hand signed in pencil at the lower right and titled in the center. The image measures 9 x 12 inches, sheet size is approximately 11 1/2 x 16 inches, it is printed on fine watermarked Rives wove paper with deckel edges on the bottom and right. The reverse top edge shows some light discoloration from old tape and there are some minor handling creases in the margins, otherwise it is in excellent condition and ready for framing. Jacob Friedland (1897-1974) was born in the Minsk region of Russia (now Belarus), he emigrated with his family to the South Bronx in New York City in 1913. It is not known where he studied art, but by 1929 he had his own lithography press and studio on 9th street in Greenwich Village. Apparently a master printer, Friedland printed not only his own lithographs, but was contracted by such renown artists as Louis Lozowick, Adolf Dehn & Raphael Soyer to print editions of their lithographs. Unfortunately due to the Great Depression, Friedland's studio was short-lived and by 1936 he was working as a printmaker and muralist for the Federal Arts Project of the WPA. After the onset of WWII, Friedland seems to have given up on the artist's life and moved into corporate commercial lithography. The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York possesses another of Friedland's WPA lithographs, "Felled Tree".

Price: 325 USD

Location: Spring Hill, Florida

End Time: 2024-11-23T01:56:14.000Z

Shipping Cost: 0 USD