SOLD


Barnett Freedman:
Charades, 1937
_folio (ref: 10612)

Lithograph, trial proof, without darker colours

Signed in the plate

22 x 31 9/10 in. (56 x 81 cm)

Tags: Barnett Freedman lithograph design interiors Hidden Gems - Interiors

Provenance: The Artist's Family

Literature: Artmonsky, Ruth, ‘Art for Everyone: Contemporary Lithographs Ltd’, ACC Art Books, 2010, pp. 46-47; Mason, Emma, Barnett Freedman, Designs for Modern Britain, Pallant House Gallery, 2020, p. 103

This work was part of the first series of Contemporary Lithographs, published in 1937. The series was the brainchild of Robert Wellington – the Director of the Zwemmer Gallery in Charing Cross – and the artist John Piper, who was the technical expert. Their inspiration was to make good quality prints available to schools across Britain. 

Twenty-five artists produced images, which were then printed with Piper’s help at the Curwen and Baynard Presses. These artists included Paul Nash, Eric Ravilious, Edward Bawden, and Graham Sutherland, among others. The edition was limited to 400 copies per image.

Concerning Barnett Freedman’s Charade, Ruth Artmonsky writes that ‘Freedman’s lithograph is reminiscent of the many Christmas cards he produced showing convivial social scenes. These were usually small vignettes which he has worked up into a full-blown party for his lithograph. His total command of the medium comes across in his subtle colour combinations with the play of the firelight’.