(Portrait of a woman)

Cora May Boone

A rare, luminescent "white-line" woodcut of a woman in a red top and golden fan-shaped earrings, by celebrated Provincetown-technique printmaker Cora Boone. Done using a single block, which is then "painted" with printing ink, the major elements of the composition - the hair, the face, the dress, etc. - are separated by a small groove, which does not print - leaving a "white line" to carry the image.

Boone, who was taught the technique by the American master Blanche Lazzell, and who would go on to teach William Seltzer Rice, uses the grain of the wood very effectively in the hair and border. In the area of the face and the cheeks she applied more ink and eliminates the grain, creating a subtle shading that draws the viewer's eye to the elegant subject.

This is the only known impression of this print and it is unsigned. It is from the estate of California artist Eleanor DeHaas (1912-1992) who studied at Arts & Crafts in Oakland, California. In the lower left corner of the work can be seen a small patch of waterstaining that comes through from the verso (see images). The price reflects the condition of this very rare work.