Description
Color Woodcut, 1918; 5 x 7 inches, archival pigment print framed in handmade gold leaf frame. “A Salt Creek, Cape Cod” by Margaret J. Patterson (1867-1950) is an amazing example of the incredibly difficult art of color woodblock printmaking.
C. Nickerson writes “Patterson tended to flatten spatial relationships and omit transitional tones. Her shadows — often blue or violet, never a grayish hue — become simple, but significant forms in themselves. In making her prints, Patterson achieve tonal subtleties that would make many painters proud. Amazingly, she also managed to convey the impression of freedom and spontaneity in an art form that’s hard, rigid and demands precision.”
Patterson’s work is in the following public collections:
Cleveland Art Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Oakland Art Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Victoria and Albert Museum
Museum of Fine Arts in Boston
