Arcadian Interlude

Clay Edgar Spohn

"Arcadian Interlude"by Clay Spohn was the third print in the series of five offered by the San Francisco Chronicle in their series Contemporary Graphics on Sunday, March 24, 1940. Arthur C. Painter reflected on Spohn's lithograph in his article "A Lithograph by a San Franciscan" in the March 27, 1940, issue of the San Francisco Chronicle: Throughout the history of civilization there have been wars and rumors of wars. "Arcadian Interlude," by Spohn, represents those periods, wedged between events, when mankind lives in harmony with his culture, his fellowmen and nature. The pyramids symbolize how these periods of development have withstood the ages, while the foreboding mood foretells the coming of somber events.

In 1940 the San Francisco Chronicle devised a “plan to bring western art to the western public” by presenting Contemporary Graphics to its readers. On Sunday, March 10, 1940, the series was launched with a three-quarter page devoted to the concept of purchasing original art by western artists. Contemporary Graphics presented twenty original prints in four series over four consecutive Sundays.

Works by Herman Volz, George Gaethke, Ray Bertrand, Rueben Kadish, and Arthur Murphy comprised the first series. Sunday, March 17th, the Chronicle presented the second series that included works by Glen Wessels, Sargent Johnson, A. Ray Burrell, Beckford Young, and Theodore Polos. The third series, featured on March 24th, included works by Dong Kingman, Shirley Staschen, Clay Spohn, Edgar Dorsey Taylor and George Harris. The fourth and final series was presented to the public on March 31, 1940, with works by Otis Oldfield, Benjamin Cunningham, Mallette Dean, John Haley, and Erle Loran.

With the exception of Mallette Dean's linoleum block print, all the prints were original lithographs. Each print was pencil signed and titled and the edition size was 150. The price for the individual works was $2.00 and they could be purchased in San Francisco from the following locales: the Chronicle, the City of Paris, O’Connor, Moffatt, Paul Elder, Schwabacher-Frey and Gumps.