It truly is with a great deal of pleasure the Detroit Museum of Artwork is able to place on exhibition with the East galleries, an display of resistant engravings by Henry Wolf, N. A., loaned from his own portfolio. There are forty-five topics, many of them following world-famous works of art, and as well, many originals carried out from characteristics. The latter combining the engravers own artistic qualities show him to become an designer of the 1st rank. Considering that the early nineties, the half-tone process, whi: h reproduces drawings photos in one-twentieth of the time in which a wood engraver could get it done, has slowly but surely eliminated through the field of magazine and newspaper example the slow process.
Ahead of that time, underneath the patronage from the Century and Harpers mags this country started to be noted pertaining to the superiority of the skill of engraving on solid wood, and in the perfection with the printing method and quality of daily news to be imprinted upon, nevertheless the half-tone worked this art a deathblow, and the wood-engravers of America were forced to turn their particular attention to different fields.
Although two of the best, tenaciously clung to the old art, viz.: Timothy Cole, who has resided and workèd in The european union for the past twentyfive vears, and Mr. Wolf, whose images are nov/ on display here. That they seemed to believe that this was a great artistic phrase which might certainly not be rewarded in their life time, but which will time and great grandchildren would give an area in agreement with its artistic merits. Require men have certainly not been forced to wait for posthumous fame. Mr. Wolfs prints have to be found in the truly amazing collections of Europe and America, and he has become accorded various honors and treasures a large number of medals provided him both in the United States and in Europe. Around the occasion of his receiving a medal in the Exposition kklk Beaux Artistry, Rouen, in 1903, an art vit of that city said: Mr. Henry Wolf is perhaps the first wood engraver on the planet. He has a delicacy of bédane that scarcely allows the execution to appear, while the suppleness of his graving is certainly that his proofs will certainly be incorrect for artwork in grisaille a delicate greyish.
Truly, while Mrs. Chandler says in her appreciation of the expert wood engraver, by several subtle magnetic power he catches the particular feeling of the paint- ser, and, through his individual fine soul and touch transmits it to all of us. While the lines in his prints do not do not preserve the outward appearance from the original, that they fairly vibrate with sympathetic desire to help to make us know the very spirit of the piece of art. In the present collection one has sufficient opportunity to examine the engravers interpretation of paintings by simply men just like Chase, Weir, Sargent, Alexander, Shan- non, etc ., males still living and whose work is definitely peculiarly associated with this country, and Leonardo weil Vinci, Velasquez Vermeer. Manet, and our personal Whistler, And then, certainly not least in point of interest, are Mr. Wolfs four original -The Night time Star, A period of time Star, A Scene in Lexington, In. Y., and Morning Mists.
