Paper

1999.02

Vernon Cheek

Gift

Gift of Vernon Cheek

1956

24 x 30

19-3/4 in

15 in

Cultural/Historical Context

"Stanley William Hayter, a Kings College graduate (1921) in organic chemistry and geology, moved to Paris (1926) and devoted himself entirely to art. He emerged as one of the standard-bearers for printmaking in the 20th-century. Of the opinion that graphic art (particularly the intaglio medium, etching/engraving) had underdeveloped possibilities, Hayter began innovative experiments and in 1949 published New Ways of Gravure, discussing his breakthroughs. Yet, despite this preoccupation with method, Hayter remarked, “Technique is a process which sets the imagination free and makes its action visible – it has no other function.” While teaching in Paris (1933) Hayter resided and worked at 17 rue Campagne-Première. He named his flat Atelier 17 (Atelier: “studio” in French) – soon the most influential print shop of all time. In 1940 Hayter relocated to San Francisco, instructing at the California School of Fine Art. That same year he established another Atelier 17, this time in New York City. The Atelier 17 group, already shown in Paris and London (1934), were featured at The Museum of Modern Art, NY (1944). Hayter traveled frequently between schools. While in NY he worked for the New School for Social Research. Later he instructed printmaking at the Art Institute of Chicago until 1949 when he took a professorship of Fine Arts at Brooklyn College, NY. By 1950 he returned to Paris to re-establish Atelier 17, his NY version left to his students. Atelier 17 gained attention of artists across the country. Many practicing there adopted Abstract Expressionism as their preferred style, influenced particularly by Action Painting/gestural abstraction – spontaneous, unconscious, scribble-like marks. This group, referred to as the New York School and that includes the likes of Picasso, Miró, and Lasansky, worked closely under the guidance of Hayter, setting the style of printmaking for the 20th century. "