The History of Printmaking: Ben Franklin at Versailles (large plate)
Warrington Colescott, The History of Printmaking: Ben Franklin at Versailles (large plate), 1976, soft-ground etching and aquatint, with vibrograver, and relief rolls through stencils, printed in color on cream Arches Cover paper, Museum Purchase: Caroline Ladd Pratt Fund, © Warrington Colescott, 80.47.1c
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- Title
The History of Printmaking: Ben Franklin at Versailles (large plate)
- Related Titles
original language: The History of Printmaking: Ben Franklin at Versailles
series (original language): The History of Printmaking
- Artist
- Date
1976
- Medium
soft-ground etching and aquatint, with vibrograver, and relief rolls through stencils, printed in color on cream Arches Cover paper
- Edition
37/50
- Catalogue Raisonné
Chapin 213
- Dimensions (H x W x D)
plate: 21 13/16 in x 27 5/8 in; sheet: 24 7/8 in x 33 in
- Inscriptions & Markings
watermark: Arches NCE, watermark, lower right
signature; date: Warrington Colescott 1976, graphite, lower right
title: History of Printmaking: Ben Franklin at Versailles, graphite, lower center
edition: 37/50, graphite, lower left
- Collection Area
Graphic Arts
- Category
Prints
- Object Type
intaglio print
- Culture
American
- Credit Line
Museum Purchase: Caroline Ladd Pratt Fund
- Accession Number
80.47.1c
- Copyright
© Warrington Colescott
- Terms
Although better known as a statesman, Benjamin Franklin was also a skillful printer and engraver. Colescott tips his hat to Franklin's "diplomatic and amatory successes" at the court of Louis XVI at Versailles, where he served as the ambassador. Colescott imagines the politician wooing the beauties of the court with his press, while the detritus of his daily life (boxer shorts, stray socks) and his printing equipment clutter the foreground.
- Exhibitions
2013 In the Studio: Reflections on Artistic Life Portland Art Museum