Spotlight Talk: Etching with Esherick

Join us as we explore a rare etching by Wharton Esherick. During his time as an active printmaker in the 1920s and early 1930s, Esherick carved hundreds of woodblocks and wood engravings while he was on the road to becoming a sculptor. On rare occasions, Esherick also experimented with different printmaking processes such as stencil printing and etching.

In this talk we explore the sole etching by Esherick in the WEM collection and how Esherick came to experiment with etching under the supervision of Carl Zigrosser, print dealer and manager of the Weyhe Gallery, who later became the first curator of Prints and Drawings at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Spotlight Talk: Exhibiting Early Esherick

Enjoy a conversation about some of Wharton Esherick’s earliest exhibitions. What types of venues did Esherick exhibit in during the early days of his career, how was his work received, and who might have encountered or even purchased his work? To explore Esherick’s early exhibitions we dug into a scrapbook that Letty Esherick kept that’s full of small catalogs, newspaper clippings, and print advertisements.

Imprint 2025: Renewal Virtual Reception

For Imprint 2025, our 17th Annual High School Printmaking Exhibition, we celebrated ‘Renewal’ in all its forms! As the weather warmed up with the arrival of spring, we enjoyed the awakening of nature here on the hillside. Esherick (and many of our submissions) explored this very idea. During the virtual reception we take a peek at just a few of Esherick’s springtime prints. Of course, the stars of this year’s program are our community’s young artists. We delve into the great diversity and talent of this year’s entries as we highlight prizewinners and review this year’s show.

Over the course of Esherick’s life, woodcut printmaking proved a critical medium in his artistic development. Through his explorations in printmaking, Esherick transitioned from a young painter to an internationally-recognized artist and furniture designer. Now in its 17th year, the Imprint program encourages new generations of young artists to share their voices and vision in this dynamic medium.

Spotlight Talk: Esherick’s Travel Sketches

WEM’s Spring Exhibition, Voyage of Renewal: Wharton Esherick in Germany and Scandinavia is open in our Visitor Center through June 1, 2025. The exhibition explores Esherick’s trip to Europe in 1931 that was funded by one of his patrons, Helene Fischer. Esherick’s trip included visiting his friend and fellow artist Hannah Weil at her home in Bavaria as well as travel through Germany, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. The trip served as a critical moment of renewal in Esherick’s artistic career and the exhibition explores this trip through materials he acquired or completed along the way such as postcards, photographs, and one of his seven travel sketchbooks from the journey. Curious what kinds of objects, people, and scenes caught Esherick’s attention? Enjoy our virtual Spotlight Talk from Tuesday, March 25, 2025 in which we dive into the sketchbooks Esherick filled up during his time abroad!