Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 8

James Demark
BACKYARD Signed Lithograph, Black Couple, African American Heritage, Quilts

1996

About the Item

BACKYARD by the artist James Denmark is an original hand drawn, limited edition lithograph printed on archival Somerset paper, 100% acid free using traditional hand lithography techniques. BACKYARD is one of Denmark's colorful collage compositions of everyday African American life - a soulful Southern country folk scene featuring a standing woman wearing a flaming red orange skirt, multicolored wallpaper floral print top, and dark indigo print head wrap; her male companion dressed in blue denim jeans, dark indigo print shirt and denim hat sitting in the backyard as the patchwork quilts flutter on the clothesline. Vivid coloration and textures captivate the eye with variety - deep violet, reds, fiery orange, touches of yellow, dark black and shades of blue - a very strong impression and fine example of hand lithography! Print size - 38 x 23 inches, unframed, mint condition, pencil signed and numbered by James Denmark Edition size - 250, plus proofs Year published - 1996 James Denmark, born in Winter Haven, Florida in 1936 is one of the few masters of collage. He utilizes an exacting process to cut and assemble brightly hand colored papers, fabric and objects into familiar figures and images. Denmark’s grandmother, a wire sculptor and quilt artist, exposed him to color and form at an early age. He was also influenced by his grandfather, a bricklayer noted for his unique custom design molds. Denmark attended Florida Agriculture and Mechanical University (FAMU) in Tallahassee, FL where he studied under the artist and acclaimed African-American art historian, Dr. Samella Lewis, receiving a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree. After graduating from FAMU, Denmark moved to Brooklyn, NY and began teaching art in the public school system. Denmark earned his Master of Fine Arts Degree at the prestigious Pratt Institute of Fine Arts in New York. After graduating from FAMU, Denmark moved to Brooklyn, NY and began teaching art in the public school system. Denmark earned his Master of Fine Arts Degree at the prestigious Pratt Institute of Fine Arts in New York. While at Pratt, Denmark was heavily influenced by the abstract expressionists, admiring such mainstream artists as Jackson Pollock, Clifford Still, William de Kooning. The African-American masters Norman Lewis, Romare Bearden, Jacob Lawrence and Ernest Crichlow instilled in him an appreciation of African/American artistic heritage and it was during this time that Denmark’s work underwent a stylistic transition as he began experimenting with collage. He has had over 60 one-man exhibitions and has participated in numerous group shows. His artworks are a part of well recognized private and corporate collections in United States, as well as in Mexico, South Africa, Europe, Japan and Africa, including New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. Denmark has received numerous awards and commendations including the 39th Annual Printing Industry Award given by the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture and The Living Legends Award presented by the National Urban League.
  • Creator:
    James Demark (1936, American)
  • Creation Year:
    1996
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 38 in (96.52 cm)Width: 23 in (58.42 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
    Mint condition, unframed, pencil signed and numbered by the artist, print documentation/Certificate of Authenticity provided. Number may vary from photo depending upon availability.
  • Gallery Location:
    Union City, NJ
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU832312139342
More From This SellerView All
  • CHILDREN WITH FLOWERS Signed Lithograph, Multicultural Portrait, Fabric Collage
    By Elizabeth Catlett
    Located in Union City, NJ
    Elizabeth Catlett - CHILDREN WITH FLOWERS 1995, limited edition lithograph printed in twelve colors using traditional hand lithography techniques on archival Arches paper, 100% acid free. CHILDREN WITH FLOWERS is a multicultural collage portrait of four children, each a different cultural heritage, wearing colorful print fabric clothing, gathered together behind a straw basket weave planter filled with a variety of pink impatiens and white daisies. The children's bodies, hands and flowers join together as a metaphor of unity and diversity of children throughout the world. A cheerful, socially aware composition by the renowned African American female...
    Category

    1990s Contemporary Portrait Prints

    Materials

    Lithograph

  • CITY GRACES Signed Lithograph, Group Portrait, Peach, Yellow, Brown, Plum
    By Lester Johnson
    Located in Union City, NJ
    CITY GRACES is an original hand drawn lithograph by the NY figurative expressionist painter, Lester Johnson. Printed using hand lithography techniques on archival printmaking paper 1...
    Category

    1980s Contemporary Figurative Prints

    Materials

    Lithograph

  • PASSING CROWD Signed Lithograph, Women Men Walking, Sheath Dress, Light Peach
    By Lester Johnson
    Located in Union City, NJ
    PASSING CROWD is an original hand drawn lithograph by the NY figurative expressionist painter, Lester Johnson. Printed using hand lithography techniques on archival ARCHES paper 100% acid free, full bleed image, no margins. In PASSING CROWD, a group of fashionable city women and men walking...
    Category

    1980s Contemporary Figurative Prints

    Materials

    Lithograph

  • THE FAMILY Signed Stone Lithograph, Mother and Children Drawing, Oval Portrait
    By Chaim Gross
    Located in Union City, NJ
    THE FAMILY is an original hand drawn, stone lithograph by the American artist/sculptor Chaim Gross. Endearing figure study of a seated woman together with a her children, a young boy and girl. THE FAMILY was hand proofed and printed by master printer Joseph Kleineman from a lithographic stone in light black ink on archival printmaking paper, 100% acid free. THE FAMILY expresses a sensitive black and white oval portrait drawing...
    Category

    1960s Contemporary Portrait Prints

    Materials

    Lithograph

  • NY STREET SCENE I Signed Lithograph, City Crowd Portrait, Black Line Drawing
    By Lester Johnson
    Located in Union City, NJ
    NY STREET SCENE is an original hand drawn lithograph by the NY figurative expressionist painter, Lester Johnson. Printed in black ink using hand lithography techniques on archival pa...
    Category

    1970s Contemporary Portrait Prints

    Materials

    Lithograph

  • WOMEN TOGETHER Signed Lithograph Seated Female Figures, Cream, Gray, Terra Cotta
    By Chaim Gross
    Located in Union City, NJ
    WOMEN TOGETHER is a color lithograph by the American artist/sculptor Chaim Gross presenting an endearing figure study of seated female figures printed on archival white paper in watercolor shades of cream, light terra cotta, warm gray, light blue, light red and graphite black for the drawing. WOMEN TOGETHER is a freely expressed group portrait portraying the gathering of women seated together; their rounded cloud like body forms, gentle facial expressions and curly hair seem to flow in unison across the horizontal composition creating an almost heavenly air. Print size - 20 x 29 inches, unframed, pencil signed by Chaim Gross Edition size - 100, plus proofs Year published - 1979 Chaim Gross,(1904 - 1991) was a sculptor, artist, and teacher, known for his wood carvings, sculptures of moving human figures, religious imagery, acrobats, mothers and children. Chaim was born on March 17, 1904 to a Jewish family in Austrian Galicia, in the village of Wolowa in the Carpathian Mountains. In 1911, his family moved to Kolomyia. During World War I, Russian forces invaded Austria-Hungary; amidst the turmoil, the Grosses fled Kolomyia. They returned when Austria retook the town in 1915, refugees of the war. When World War I ended, Gross and brother Avrom-Leib went to Budapest, where Gross attended the city's art academy and studied with painter Béla Uitz, though within a year a new regime under Miklos Horthy took over and attempted to expel all Jews and foreigners from the country. After being deported from Hungary, Gross began art studies at the Kunstgewerbeschule in Vienna shortly before emigrating to New York City in 1921. In the U.S., Gross's studies continued at the Beaux-Arts Institute of Design, where he studied sculpture with Elie Nadelman and others, and at the Art Students League, with sculptor Robert Laurent. He also attended the Educational Alliance Art School, studying under Abbo Ostrowsky. In the late 1920s and early 1930s Gross exhibited at the Salons of America exhibitions at the Anderson Galleries and, beginning in 1928, at the Whitney Studio Club (the precursor to the Whitney Museum of American Art). In March 1932 Gross had his first solo exhibition at Gallery 144 in New York City. Also in 1932, Gross married Renee Nechin (1909-2005), and they had two children, Yehuda and Mimi (Mimi Gross is a New York-based artist, and was married to the artist Red Grooms from 1963-1976). In 1933, Gross joined the government's PWAP (Public Works of Art Project), which transitioned into the WPA (Works Progress Administration). Under these programs Gross taught and demonstrated art, made sculptures for schools and public colleges, and created works for Federal buildings including the Federal Trade Commission Building, and for the France Overseas and Finnish Buildings at the 1939 New York World's Fair. Gross was also recognized during these years with a silver medal at the 1937 Exposition universelle in Paris. Chaim Gross, Sculptor by Josef Vincent Lombardo, the first major book on Gross, came out in 1949 and included a catalogue raisonne of his sculpture. In the 1950s Gross began to make more bronze sculptures alongside his wood and stone pieces, and in 1957 and 1959 he traveled to Rome to work with famed bronze foundries including the Nicci foundry. In 1959, a survey of Gross's sculpture in wood, stone, and bronze was featured in the exhibit Four American Expressionists curated by Lloyd Goodrich at the Whitney Museum of American Art, with work by Abraham Rattner, Doris Caesar, and Karl Knaths. In 1963, Gross and his family moved from their longtime residence at 30 W. 105th Street to Greenwich Village, following the purchase of a four-story historic townhouse at 526 LaGuardia Place, which is now the Renee & Chaim Gross Foundation. In 1974, the Smithsonian American Art Museum held the exhibition, Chaim Gross: Sculpture and Drawings, and in 1976, a selection from Gross's important collection of historic African...
    Category

    1970s Contemporary Figurative Prints

    Materials

    Lithograph

You May Also Like
  • Young Woman - Original Lithograph by Sandro Trotti - 1980s
    By Sandro Trotti
    Located in Roma, IT
    Young Woman is an original litograph, realized by Sandro Trotti in 1980s. Representing a young woman exalted by a wonderful contrast of colors, this original print is hand-signed in...
    Category

    1980s Contemporary Figurative Prints

    Materials

    Lithograph

  • "Los Amantes" Series
    By German Perez
    Located in Troy, NY
    This lithograph presents the profile of an Afro-Caribbean diety. His long beard is brightly multi-colored; some of these colors appear in blocks around him: purple, green, and yellow...
    Category

    2010s Contemporary Figurative Prints

    Materials

    Lithograph

  • Lithograph -- Treillis A Croisillions
    By Antonio Rivera
    Located in Troy, NY
    This lithograph features two figures with an abstract setting. The figures are dressed in Spanish clothing, one a Maja, and one a Matador. The complementary color scheme features red and green to create a striking contrast. Throughout the print, there appears to be a detailed lace design. This is an original lithograph, signed by the artist in the front and is number 3 in a set of 35 artist proofs. Antonio Rivera...
    Category

    Late 20th Century Contemporary Portrait Prints

    Materials

    Lithograph

  • Night: William Dunas Dance 3 (Pamela)
    By Alex Katz
    Located in Long Island City, NY
    Artist: Alex Katz, American (1927 - ) Title: Night: William Dunas Dance 3 (Pamela) Year: 1983 Medium: Lithograph on Arches, signed and numbered in pencil Edition: 100, 42 AP Size: 25...
    Category

    1980s Contemporary Portrait Prints

    Materials

    Lithograph

  • Hommage to Gustave Courbet - Lithograph by Renato Guttuso - 1980s
    By Renato Guttuso
    Located in Roma, IT
    Hommage to Gustave Courbet is a lithograph realized by Renato Guttuso in 1980. Hand-signed on the lower. Numbered, edition of 100. Drystamp "La Spirale".
    Category

    1980s Contemporary Figurative Prints

    Materials

    Lithograph

  • Hommage to Antonello da Messina - Lithograph by Renato Guttuso - 1980s
    By Renato Guttuso
    Located in Roma, IT
    Hommage to Antonello da Messina is a lithograph realized by Renato Guttuso in 1980. Hand-signed on the lower. Numbered, edition of 100. Drystamp "La Spirale".
    Category

    1980s Contemporary Figurative Prints

    Materials

    Lithograph

Recently Viewed

View All