agnes tait 1894 - 1981 self portrait 1934 private collection 11 1/2” x 9” lithograph
TRANSCRIPT
Agnes Tait1894 - 1981
Self Portrait1934
private collection11 1/2” x 9”lithograph
Skating in Central Park1934
Smithsonian American Art Museum33 3/4” x 48”oil on canvas
Child with Sailboat1928
private collection19 3/4” x 13”
watercolor
Claiborne Merchant1951
private collection24” x 20”watercolor
Jacques Cartier1951
private collection29 1/4” x 23 1/4”
oil on canvas
William McNulty1944
private collection13” x 10”
drawing with conti crayon
Raciadoc. 1974
private collection14” x 19”watercolor
Sailor Cats1941
private collectionsize unknown
lithograph
Dominique1937
private collection10” x 13”lithograph
The Survivorsc. 1941
private collection9 5/8” x 15 3/4”
lithograph
The Lithographic process
Lithography is the original form of surface printing and offered a new freedom to the artist or printer. The illustration could be drawn directly onto a highly polished chalky limestone block with special crayon pens. Drawing onto the stone was almost as natural an action as drawing onto paper. This photo gallery shows the lithographic process as it would have be used in the 1800s. Demonstrating the technique is Rew Hanks, Australian contemporary artist and printmaking teacher.
A greasy lithographic pencil is applied to a thick slab of limestone, the surface of which has been polished or 'grained'.
The image is then fixed to the stone using a weak solution of nitric acid and gum arabic. The image is then washed out with turpentine.
A thin layer of bitumen is then applied to the surface of the stone to help replenish the greasy deposits of the image. The stone is then rinsed with water.
Then a greasy ink is rolled on. The ink adheres only to the image drawn with the pencil and is repelled by the water-soaked surrounds.
Paper is then placed over the inked surface and a metal or plastic sheet is lowered onto it.
With the aid of a specific press, a scraper is drawn across to transfer the image to the paper.
The final print.