(woman playing lute)

Olaf Abrahamsen Willums

Norwegian printmaker Olaf Abrahamsen changed his last name to Willums when he was 30. He created this woodcut, using just gouges, in 1915, the year he married Signe Hassel. The subject is a young woman who is playing a lute and singing. He frames the subject with a black line and prints the fabric of her dress lightly to impy texture. The image was done in 1915 but this impression was dedicated to Georg Bröchner and dated 1916.

In keeping with many early 20th century European printmakers Willums trimmed the margins of the paper of this impression, leaving a thin border margin beyond the printed line.

This woodcut is from the collection of Danish art critic and author Georg Bröchner, who wrote for the British art magazine "The Studio" in the early 20th century. He assembled a "Golden Book" of prints and drawings that were given to him by his artist friends, many of whom were Scandinavian.