On Meeting Beauty II

Chaim Koppelman

This intaglio was published in 1958 by the International Graphic Arts Society (IGAS) in an edition of 200, half the edition was sold in the U.S. and half overseas. At the core of IGAS was a seven-member jury that was responsible for selecting the artists who would then be commissioned to produce editions that would eventually be sold to IGAS subscribers. Among the programs offered by IGAS was an innovative print rental program for colleges and universities that assisted them in starting or developing a collection of contemporary prints.

Published for the public in an edition of 200, this is numer 9 of 10 proofs that the artist got in partial payment from the publisher. Another state of this print is titled "On Meeting Beauty" and is printed in a sepia ink. The edition was published by the International Graphic Arts Society (IGAS) in November of 1958. The image is based on a poem by Eli Siegel.

In the IGAS catalog #31, November, 1958 Chaim Koppelman quotes the words of the poem's author, Eli Siegel (1902-1978) founder of Aesthetic Realism: "Can dark and light/ Show wrong and right?/ And round and straight/ Show love and hate?/ And dim and clear/ Show hope and fear?" In terms of the print itself, Chaim Koppelman says Yes to these questions. In the huddled—and coordinated —rotundity of “On Meeting Beauty II,” the confusion in man and elsewhere is a terror that makes one crumple—but, deeply, it can be beauty, the artist says."

"On Meeting Beauty II" was illustrated on page 421, (figure 420) of Fritz Eichenberg's important book "The Art of the Print" in the "The Intaglio Print" section as an example of aquatint.