Little information is available about the life of Vienna-born printmaker Hugo Noske. What we do know is that he created a large body of color woodcuts, many of which were floral subjects, often bouquets in Arts & Crafts vessels.
Another thing we know is that he was not afraid of color. This Christmas cactus is brilliant reds and oranges, set against a golden background and contained in a turqouise vase that sits on a deep red table. This image can be "read" across a room.
Noske signed the work within the image in the lower right and again in pencil in the margin beneath the image. He annotates the print "Orig. Holzschnitt, Handdruck" indicating that it is an "Original woodcut" and is "hand-printed" by the artist himself. He does not ascribe an edition number to this impression.
Many of Noske's works are found in the United States so it can be assumed he was working with a gallery or distributor who was able to find a market here.