Modern American Prints, 1920-1948 features an exceptional group of American prints from the Museum’s collection from the “Roaring Twenties” through the Great Depression and World War II. Works in three major mediums–lithography, etching and wood engraving–demonstrate the aesthetic potential of printmaking during the period. While some of the artists focused on the dynamism of urban life in New York City, the so-called Regionalists including Thomas Hart Benton, Grant Wood and John Stuart Curry explored agrarian themes reflective of the Midwest. Socially conscious artists such as Harry Sternberg and Fletcher Martin commented on working conditions and labor strife.
Unlike oil paintings, these works on paper are light sensitive and can be exhibited for only brief periods of time. Many have not been on view in over twenty-five years.