Folding Linen IV

Robert James Baxter

This color lithograph is the result of a series of drawings Baxter made of Italian laundresses. He was captivated by the elegance of their movements while doing the repetitious job of tending laundry.

Baxter commented about the printing of this image: "As to the Folding Linen piece you may find it of interest that it was printed in four colors: red, two blacks and white. The white was a real challenge because I wanted needle thin lines to crosshatch the white areas and that was not possible with Tusch. Brian Shure tracked down a diamond tipped etching needle and told me to incise the lines I wished to use deeply into the stone. It was most difficult to maintain that presssure and in so doing really tore the muscles in my wrist and hand. Shure then rubbed ink into the lines, as is done on an engraving, and then wiped the excess from the surface of the stone. He then poured a bath of nitric acid and water on to the stone which thereby ate away the surface until he could ascertain, through the use of a jewelers loop, that the stone was level with the incised lines. The stone was then etched and print proofing took place."

This impression, a presentation proof, is dedicated "To Dan" for Daniel Lienau, owner of the Annex Galleries.

Robert James Baxter was born on 30 November 1933 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He received his B.S. in art in 1956, and both his M.S. in painting and his M.F.A. in painting in 1960 from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. Baxter also studied with Aaron Bohrod and John Wilde. He relocated to San Diego, California in the early 1960s and began teaching at San Diego State University in 1962. In 1969, Baxter went to Rome on sabbatical and decided to remain in Italy, living there for a number of years. He eventually returned to Southern California and was Professor of Art at San Diego State University until 1973. As a printmaker, Baxter worked with the Workshop of Ernest F. de Soto and Editions Press, both located in San Francisco.

Baxter became a member of the National Academy of Design in 1993 and was elected a full Academician in 1994. He was awarded a Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Grant in 1972, and Pollack-Krasner Foundation grants in 2000 and 2005.