Table Of Content>to> Sabi,
AN AFRICAN AMERICAN MASTER PRINTMAKER REDISCOVERED
Exelon.
@y BEHALF OF our 29,000 colleagues and the Board of Directors
of Exelon Corporation, we want to express how pleased we are to sponsor
Dox Thrash: An African American Master Printmaker Rediscovered at the
Philadelphia Museum of Art, October 2001 through February 2002.
Exelon is especially proud to be a part of a unique exhibition that
showcases the talents of an artist who trained in Chicago and flourished
in Philadelphia, cities in which many of Exelon’s customers reside.
Sponsoring this exhibition is especially meaningful to Exelon as the
country celebrates African American art in February during Black
History Month.
Exelon encourages everyone to take advantage of all that the Philadelphia
Museum of Art and the city of Philadelphia have to offer to both
residents and guests. Enjoy Dox Thrash: An African American Master
Printmaker Rediscovered along with all the other great sights and sounds
of Philadelphia.
Corbin A. McNeill, Jr.
Co-CEO and Chairman, Exelon Corporation
John W. Rowe
Co-CEO and President, Exelon Corporation
Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2022 with funding from
The Arcadia Fund
https://archive.org/details/doxthrashaftricanOOittm
APTE NE,s ani |
k
i
%
§
DOX THRASH
AN AFRICAN AMERICAN
MASTER PRINTMAKER REDISCOVERED
John Ittmann
With essays by
David R. Brigham, Cindy Medley-Buckner, and Kymberly N. Pinder
PHILADELPHIA MUSEUM OF ART
This book is published on the occasion of the exhibition Text © 2001 Philadelphia Museum of Art
Dox Thrash: An African American Master Printmaker Rediscovered Compilation © 2001 Philadelphia Museum of Art
Works created for the WPA © U.S. General Services Administration,
Philadelphia Museum of Art Public Building Service, Cultural and Environmental Affairs
October 27, 2001-February 24, 2002 Division, Fine Arts Program, Washington, DC
Works by Eldzier Cortor © Art Resource, New York
Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago Works by Antonio Frasconi and Reginald Marsh © Artists Rights
September ro—November 3, 2002 Society, New York
In Philadelphia, the exhibition was made possible by Exelon. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced
or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
Additional support was provided by The Pew Charitable Trusts,
including photocopying, recording, or any other information storage
The Robert Montgomery Scott Endowment for Exhibitions,
or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
The William Penn Foundation, The Philadelphia Tribune, NBC
10 WCAU, and Amtrak.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
For more information on the works in the exhibition,
Ittmann, John W.
see www.philamuseum.org.
Dox Thrash: an African American master printmaker rediscovered /
John Ittmann with essays by David R. Brigham,
Cover: Dox Thrash, Harmonica Blues, c. 1937-38 (cat. 17);
Cindy Medley-Buckner, and Kymberly N. Pinder.
p. i: News Comer, c. 1939-40 (cat. 61); p. ii: detail of AN ew Day,
p. cm.—(The Jacob Lawrence series on American artists)
19308, ink wash and tempera with graphite, 10 x 13 inches
Includes bibliographical references and index.
(25.4 X 33 cm), collection of John Warren, Philadelphia;
ISBN 0-295-98159-8
back cover: Dox Thrash in the Fine Print Workshop, Philadelphia
1. Thrash, Dox, 1892—1965—Exhibitions. I. Philadelphia
Federal Art Project, c. 1940
Museum of Art. II. Title. III. Series.
Produced by the Department of Publishing
NE539.153 A4 2001
Philadelphia Museum of Art
769.92—dc21 2001053141
2525 Pennsylvania Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19130
U.S.A.
www.philamuseum.org
Edited by Kathleen Krattenmaker
Production by Richard Bonk
Designed by Greer Allen, New Haven, Connecticut
and Jo Ellen Ackerman, Guilford, Connecticut
Typesetting and layout by Bessas & Ackerman, Guilford, Connecticut
Separations by Professional Graphics, Inc., Rockford, Illinois
Printed and bound by Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, S.p.A., Verona, Italy
ISBN 0-87633-152-5 (cloth) o-87633-151-7 (paper)
Contents
vi Lenders to the Exhibition
Foreword
Anne d’ Harnoncourt
Vill Preface
Note to the Reader
Dox Thrash: “I Always Wanted To Be an Artist”
John Ittmann
43 The Fine Print Workshop of the Philadelphia Federal
Art Project
Cindy Medley-Buckner
Dox Thrash and the Pyramid Club
David R. Brigham
“Racial Idiom” in the Work of Dox Thrash
Kymberly N. Pinder
Guide to the Catalogue Raisonné of Prints
Abbreviations
Catalogue Raisonné of Prints
Chronology
Jennifer Noonan
140 Lifetime Exhibition Record
146 Notes
163 Glossary of Printmaking Terms
164 Selected Bibliography
167 Alphabetical List of Print Titles
170 Indexes
Lenders to the Exhibition
Robert J. Brand and Elizabeth Werthan, Philadelphia
Dr. Constance Elaine Clayton, Philadelphia
Dolan/Maxwell Gallery, Philadelphia
Oliver Franklin, Philadelphia
The Free Library of Philadelphia
Edie L. T. Huggins, Philadelphia
National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
Allan H. Nowak, Sunny Isles Beach, Florida
Philadelphia Museum of Art
John Warren, Philadelphia
