Welcome to Imprint 2022, our 14th annual high school print competition and exhibition!

This online exhibition represents a juried selection of works submitted by high school students from across Berks, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Lehigh, Montgomery, and Philadelphia Counties. 

The Imprint program encourages new generations of young artists in the medium of relief printmaking. When Wharton Esherick was a young artist, woodcut printmaking was a critical medium in his artistic development. Through printmaking, Esherick transitioned from a young painter to an internationally recognized artist and furniture designer. You can see Esherick’s prints in our collection and in the collections of other institutions, including the Philadelphia Museum of Art. To see a new print from the Esherick Museum’s collection every week, follow us on Instagram and Facebook  each “Woodcut Wednesday.”

As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Wharton Esherick Museum this year, we are reflecting on the importance of home and the many different ways Esherick incorporated it into his life’s work. For this year’s Imprint exhibition we introduced the theme of ‘Visions of Home’. We asked that students interpret the meaning of home through their own print submissions.

Recognizing the pivotal role that printmaking played in Esherick’s life, we are delighted to once again highlight young artists who represent the future of this powerful medium, with Imprint. Despite another difficult year, we received a truly astounding array of beautiful submissions. It is with this in mind as we embark on another year of Imprint, we applaud art teachers and students everywhere, who have continued to create, even in the face of adversity.

Winnie Kenney,
Portrait of the Hutch
Strath Haven High School

Laylah Santacruz, Home Tweet Home
Renaissance Academy Charter School

We are grateful to have had Jacob Crook as a guest juror for this year’s Imprint competition. He works primarily in the intaglio printmaking technique of mezzotint, but is also trained as an observational oil painter and draftsman. Crook completed his MFA degree in printmaking from Syracuse University and received a BFA with emphasis in painting from the University of Missouri, Columbia. Crook’s works have been exhibited both nationally and internationally including at the Yekaterinburg Museum of Fine Arts, the Fort Wayne Museum of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, and are also displayed in numerous academic institutions and private collections. He currently works as Assistant Professor of Art and Printmaking Coordinator in the Department of Art at Mississippi State University. Visit his website to see some of his incredible work.