Name/Title
Print: Men Make Houses 97-1Description
A pair of five-color silkscreen prints on off-white linen depicting Pennsylvania “Dutch” couples building houses. Illustrations support a house blessing and a maxim related to house and home. See color images below.
At left, a couple builds a farmhouse. The man stands within the framing holding a brick in one hand while reaching toward the unfinished chimney. Below, a woman mixes mortar in a trough with a hoe. A blessing reads, “Bless this house, each brick and rafter, may it be filled with peace and laughter”.
At right, a man is adzing a beam in front of a partially completed timber frame house. A woman in the foreground is rocking a baby in a cradle while the baby reaches out to touch a spinning wheel. Above and below the scene is the maxim, “Men make houses, women make homes”.
These prints were first produced in the late 1950’s. This pair appears in the c.1960 brochure “Country Prints in Frames Designed by Robert Darr Wert”; see images. They were also available as Gift Greetings, Country Prints’ line of unmounted prints in cardstock note folders with envelopes for mailing or gift giving; see “Gift Greetings”.Made/Created
Artist Information
Artist
Robert Darr WertRole
ArtistManufacturer
Country PrintsDate made
circa 1958 - circa 1960Time Period
20th CenturyPlace
Location
Gill MA.Continent
North AmericaNotes
Linen prints are dry mounted on chipboard, backed with cardboard bearing the Country Prints imprint, and secured within Country Prints natural wood frames with staples.Inscription/Signature/Marks
“wert by hand”, lower right corners.Dimensions
Dimension Description
Print, exclusive of frameHeight
9 inWidth
7 inDimension Description
FrameHeight
10-1/2 inWidth
8-1/2 inDepth
1-3/4 inMaterial
Bleached Linen, Textile Ink, Cardboard, Wood, Clear Finish Coat, StaplesColor
Green, Pink, Dark Chartreuse, Blue, Black
