• In 1922, Wharton Esherick showed a copy Rhymes of Early Jungle Folk, which he had illustrated with woodcut prints, to Harold Mason, owner of the Centaur Bookshop in Philadelphia. Impressed by what he saw, Mason asked Esherick to illustrate Walt Whitman’s Song of the Broad-Axe, which Mason published in a limited edition in 1924.  Inspired by the woodcuts, Esherick created a hand-bound prototype book of Whitman’s poem, using prints made directly from his blocks and hand-lettering it in Esherick’s own calligraphic style. Illuminated letters were used to begin paragraphs, and spaces at the end of lines were filled with blue and yellow drawings that reflect the content of the verses. The result of this labor of love was a work of art, 17x12 inches, with pages of handmade paper, folded and uncut.  This book is a reproduction of Esherick’s prototype, authorized by the Wharton Esherick Museum. Though this edition is smaller than the prototype book, the original was carefully scanned and printed to provide as true a reproduction as possible. It faithfully captures the artist’s vision and skill and, for the first time, makes this wonderful work available to the general public. It will be appreciated by all admirers of Esherick, Whitman, and lovers of fine books. 
  • Wharton Esherick and the Birth of the American Modern explores Esherick’s artistic evolution during the early decades of the twentieth century, culminating in the exhibition of his work as part of the Pennsylvania Hill House at the 1940 World's Fair in New York City. Trained as an illustrator and painter, experienced in modern theater and dance, well exposed to new ideas in philosophy, politics, and literature, Esherick experimented with woodcarving and printmaking, laying the foundation for his emergence as an artist of remarkable range.
  • Established in 1999, Historic Artists’ Homes and Studios (HAHS), a program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, is a coalition of museums throughout the country that were the homes and studios of American artists. From the desert vistas of Georgia O’Keeffe’s New Mexico ranch to Winslow Homer’s studio on the rocky, windswept coast of southern Maine, the homes and studios in the network are sites of extraordinary creativity. The Wharton Esherick Museum is proud to be a founding HAHS member, and a site featured in this publication.

    Guide to Historic Artists’ Homes & Studios is the first guidebook to the network, conveying each artist’s visual legacy and setting each site in the context of its architecture and landscape, which often were designed by the artists themselves. Through portraits, artwork, and site photos, discover the powerful influence of place on American greats such as Andrew Wyeth, Grant Wood, Lee Krasner, and Donald Judd, as well as lesser-known but equally creative figures who made important contributions to cultural history---multimedia artist James Castle, photographer Alice Austen, and muralist Clementine Hunter among them.

    Organized by region Guide to Historic Artists’ Homes & Studios weaves the history of the sites’ architecture and landscape with the artists’ biographies and their visual legacy. The guide features portraits of the artists, examples of their artwork, site descriptions, and photographs as well as visitor information and a site map.

      Guide to Historic Artists’ Homes & Studios: A Program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation

    By Valerie A. Balint | Foreword by Wanda M. Corn, Preface by Donna Hassler and Katherine Malone-France

    Publication date: June 2, 2020. Paperback with flaps. 256 pages. 225 Color & B+W photographs.

    Cover photo by Don Freeman, 2019

  • T-shirt features Wharton's woodcut illustration for D.H. Lawrence's "Reflections on the Death of a Porcupine", a collection of essays published by Centaur Press in 1926. Available as white print on light heather green t-shirt. Short sleeved. 100% cotton.
  • Out of stock
    Available as black print on white.  100% cotton. Only 5 left! We will not be restocking this design in the white t-shirt!
  • Available as a black print on mustard yellow t-shirt. 100% cotton
  • We’re celebrating Esherick’s printmaking with an exciting new shop item – Holzhausen Tea Towels! These tea towels bring a little piece of the Studio into your home, capturing the spirit of Esherick’s gift to his friend Hanna Weil, for whom he made a set of curtains with this dynamic repeating pattern. ‘Holzhausen’ is both the town in Germany where Hanna lived and Esherick’s title for his woodblock print depicting the view from her front porch. Screenprinted by Philadelphia-based artist and printmaker Marcus Benavides. Measures 28" x 28"
  • Black print on ash grey shirt. The print is "The Hammersmen" from Wharton's illustrated and illuminated "Song of the Broad-Axe" by Walt Whitman. **Please note, the color of this shirt may vary from a light ash gray to a slightly darker heather gray (see pictured).**
  • T-shirt features Wharton's woodcut illustration for D.H. Lawrence's "Reflections on the Death of a Porcupine", a collection of essays published by Centaur Press in 1926. Available as white print on black t-shirt. 100% cotton.
  • Catalog for the "Telling Tales": WEM's 29th Annual Juried Woodworking Exhibition. Soft cover, 66 pages.

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