Table Of Content

>to> Sabi, AN AFRICAN AMERICAN MASTER PRINTMAKER REDISCOVERED Exelon. @y BEHALF OF our 29,000 colleagues and the Board of Directors of Exelon Corporation, we want to express how pleased we are to sponsor Dox Thrash: An African American Master Printmaker Rediscovered at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, October 2001 through February 2002. Exelon is especially proud to be a part of a unique exhibition that showcases the talents of an artist who trained in Chicago and flourished in Philadelphia, cities in which many of Exelon’s customers reside. Sponsoring this exhibition is especially meaningful to Exelon as the country celebrates African American art in February during Black History Month. Exelon encourages everyone to take advantage of all that the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the city of Philadelphia have to offer to both residents and guests. Enjoy Dox Thrash: An African American Master Printmaker Rediscovered along with all the other great sights and sounds of Philadelphia. Corbin A. McNeill, Jr. Co-CEO and Chairman, Exelon Corporation John W. Rowe Co-CEO and President, Exelon Corporation Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2022 with funding from The Arcadia Fund https://archive.org/details/doxthrashaftricanOOittm APTE NE,s ani | k i % § DOX THRASH AN AFRICAN AMERICAN MASTER PRINTMAKER REDISCOVERED John Ittmann With essays by David R. Brigham, Cindy Medley-Buckner, and Kymberly N. Pinder PHILADELPHIA MUSEUM OF ART This book is published on the occasion of the exhibition Text © 2001 Philadelphia Museum of Art Dox Thrash: An African American Master Printmaker Rediscovered Compilation © 2001 Philadelphia Museum of Art Works created for the WPA © U.S. General Services Administration, Philadelphia Museum of Art Public Building Service, Cultural and Environmental Affairs October 27, 2001-February 24, 2002 Division, Fine Arts Program, Washington, DC Works by Eldzier Cortor © Art Resource, New York Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago Works by Antonio Frasconi and Reginald Marsh © Artists Rights September ro—November 3, 2002 Society, New York In Philadelphia, the exhibition was made possible by Exelon. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, Additional support was provided by The Pew Charitable Trusts, including photocopying, recording, or any other information storage The Robert Montgomery Scott Endowment for Exhibitions, or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. The William Penn Foundation, The Philadelphia Tribune, NBC 10 WCAU, and Amtrak. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data For more information on the works in the exhibition, Ittmann, John W. see www.philamuseum.org. Dox Thrash: an African American master printmaker rediscovered / John Ittmann with essays by David R. Brigham, Cover: Dox Thrash, Harmonica Blues, c. 1937-38 (cat. 17); Cindy Medley-Buckner, and Kymberly N. Pinder. p. i: News Comer, c. 1939-40 (cat. 61); p. ii: detail of AN ew Day, p. cm.—(The Jacob Lawrence series on American artists) 19308, ink wash and tempera with graphite, 10 x 13 inches Includes bibliographical references and index. (25.4 X 33 cm), collection of John Warren, Philadelphia; ISBN 0-295-98159-8 back cover: Dox Thrash in the Fine Print Workshop, Philadelphia 1. Thrash, Dox, 1892—1965—Exhibitions. I. Philadelphia Federal Art Project, c. 1940 Museum of Art. II. Title. III. Series. Produced by the Department of Publishing NE539.153 A4 2001 Philadelphia Museum of Art 769.92—dc21 2001053141 2525 Pennsylvania Avenue Philadelphia, PA 19130 U.S.A. www.philamuseum.org Edited by Kathleen Krattenmaker Production by Richard Bonk Designed by Greer Allen, New Haven, Connecticut and Jo Ellen Ackerman, Guilford, Connecticut Typesetting and layout by Bessas & Ackerman, Guilford, Connecticut Separations by Professional Graphics, Inc., Rockford, Illinois Printed and bound by Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, S.p.A., Verona, Italy ISBN 0-87633-152-5 (cloth) o-87633-151-7 (paper) Contents vi Lenders to the Exhibition Foreword Anne d’ Harnoncourt Vill Preface Note to the Reader Dox Thrash: “I Always Wanted To Be an Artist” John Ittmann 43 The Fine Print Workshop of the Philadelphia Federal Art Project Cindy Medley-Buckner Dox Thrash and the Pyramid Club David R. Brigham “Racial Idiom” in the Work of Dox Thrash Kymberly N. Pinder Guide to the Catalogue Raisonné of Prints Abbreviations Catalogue Raisonné of Prints Chronology Jennifer Noonan 140 Lifetime Exhibition Record 146 Notes 163 Glossary of Printmaking Terms 164 Selected Bibliography 167 Alphabetical List of Print Titles 170 Indexes Lenders to the Exhibition Robert J. Brand and Elizabeth Werthan, Philadelphia Dr. Constance Elaine Clayton, Philadelphia Dolan/Maxwell Gallery, Philadelphia Oliver Franklin, Philadelphia The Free Library of Philadelphia Edie L. T. Huggins, Philadelphia National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Allan H. Nowak, Sunny Isles Beach, Florida Philadelphia Museum of Art John Warren, Philadelphia