WASHINGTON IRVING

Object/Artifact

Historic Hudson Valley

Name/Title

WASHINGTON IRVING

Entry/Object ID

SS.2015.1 a-b

Description

Framed woodblock print of Washington Irving a. Print: three-quarter bust-length portrait of middle-aged man in green ink; short hair, brushed forward at temples; high shirt collar, cravat and high coat lapels; set in oval, set in double rectangle printed frame; mounted on backing paper [?]; at lower left, in pencil: "WASHINGTON IRVING"; at lower right, in pencil: "JOHN DEPOL"; ivory textured paper mat. b. Frame: Brown with woodgrain; simple square molding; gilded inner recessed edge; on back, printed paper: "Washington Irving/1783-1859/Thre first author from the new United States... The easiest way to make Irving some alive again is to visit the home he truly loved, in which he invested time, thought, and affection as well as cash, the beautifully restored 'Sunnyside' between Irvington and Tarrytown, New York. Cheerfully named, the house breathes an air of warm comfort and cool goodwill. Cordial. Tasteful. Ordered. Quaint. The rooms reflect the man, We not not see the open-handed author in the resurrected flesh, but we feel him. We catch a glimpse of his retreaing back in a mirror, or the polished side of a silver urn, or a window-pane. He is just down the hall, around the corner, up the stairs. We have missed him by a minute: he was walked down to the riverbank with his dogs to watch the sunset on the Tappan Zee; to amuse his nieces, she is scattering breadcrumbs for the ducks on the pond. "Sunnyside" is a loving house. .../ Don Wesely/August, 1974./The portrait drawn and engraved on wood by/ JOHN DEPOL A.N.A./ after the Daguerrotype in the permanent collection/of the New York Historical Society."; on back, in upper left, stamped: "PRISCO ART/80-06 ROOSEVELT AVE./ JACKSON HTS. 11372/ TW 9-2799."

Made/Created

Artist Information

Artist

John DePol

Attribution

Artist

Date made

1974

Inscription/Signature/Marks

Type

Inscription

Transcription

(See Description)

Other Names and Numbers

Other Number

SS.2015.1

Dimensions

Dimension Description

Framed

Height

10-3/4 in

Width

8-3/4 in

Depth

1 in

Dimension Notes

Display Dimensions: 10 3/4 x 8 3/4 x 1 in. (27.3 x 22.2 x 2.5 cm)

Material

ink, Paper, mat, Wood (unknown), Glass

Condition

Notes

Remarks: Framed with acidic backing (perserved for attached long label); glass dirty and with material/dust caught between glass and print; frame very scratched; gilding worn away.

General Notes

Note Type

Curatorial Remarks

Note

DePol worked as Art Director for Security-Columbian Banknote Company, a division of United States Banknote Corporation and later Pandick Press, from 1976 to 1981. In collaboration with Don Weseley, he published a series of prints in two colors, or keepsakes, accompanied by short essays written by Weseley, within cardboard portfolios or folders. Folders originally published by Hamilton Division Security-Columbian Banknote Company, then under the name of United States Banknote Company, and then Pandick Press. The earliest publication, Beginnings of the Petroleum Industry in Pennsylvania, appeared in 1959, and the last, The Church of Saint Luke in the Fields, in 1981. Washington Irving and John Marshall were done in 1974. [Notes from the Guide to the John DePol Collection, 1930-2004 at Rutgers University Library, added to record by Jessa J. Krick, 5/29/2015].

Note Type

StorageNote

Note

Home Location: Historic Hudson Valley, Administrative Office, Collection Manager's Office

Note Type

Department

Note

Curatorial