Nasturtium (Kapuzinerkresse)

Hugo Noske

Little solid 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 arranged in Arts & Crafts vessels. Another thing we know is that he was not afraid of color. This vase of Nasturtiums, set against a gold and moss green drapery background can be "read" across a room.

Noske signed this work within the image using a white ink and he further annotates the print in white ink: "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 which has been trimmed to the edges of the image.

Hugo Noske, painter, enamellist, and printmaker, was born in Vienna, Austria on December 20, 1886 and died in 1960. He studied at the Vienna Academy as well as in Munich and he was a member of the Austrian Werkbund (Austrian Association of Craftsmen) in Vienna, and the Society of Graver-Printers in Colour, London.

Noske was married to the artist Sophie Noske-Sander and they both exhibited in the annual exhibition of the Society of Graver-Printers in Colour in 1927 and 1928. He also exhibited in the 102nd Exhibition of the Moravian Art Society Brno, held in the Czech Republic in 1911. His work was represented in the exhibition Modern Austrian Woodcuts and Color Prints held at the Brooklyn Museum in November 1931. This exhibition traveled to Brooklyn via Ottawa and Buffalo and continued on to Yale University.

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.