Today's posting is a repost. Fritz Eichenberg is one of my favorite artists and was a master of woodcuts. I am including a few more scans that were not in the original post. My scanner is not working properly, it throws in color that is not there, pinks and grays. I have a new scanner, but need to get it set up and am looking forward to a trouble free scanner.
The illustrations by Fritz Eichenberg in Ape In A Cape, an ABC book, are stunning. It's clear when you look at his work, that Eichenberg was a master of his craft. I really like the large scale of the illustrations, many go off the page. Eichenberg received a Caldecott Honor for Ape In A Cape in 1953.
Fritz Eichenberg (October 24, 1901-November 30,1990) was an artist, printmaker, teacher, graphic designer, author and social activist. Born in Cologne, Germany to a Jewish family, the destruction of World War 1 affected him and influenced his work throughout his life. Trained in Cologne and Leipzig, Eichenberg worked in Berlin from 1923 to 1933, illustrating books and newspapers and sometimes also writing.
With the rise of Adolf Hitler, Eichenberg, who was a public critic of the Nazis, emigrated to New York with his family. There he taught at the New School for Social Research and at the Pratt Institute. He was part of the WPA's Federal Arts Project. Eichenberg also served as the head of the art department at the University of Rhode Island and laid out the printmaking studios there. He served on the board of the AIGA and the Society of American Graphic Arts. He supported young artists experimenting with new printmaking techniques. Eichenberg published an important history of graphics arts, The Art of the Print.
During his prolific career, Eichenberg illustrated over 100 books. He became a world class printmaker and illustrator, working predominately in wood engraving and lithography. Eichenberg wrote and illustrated folklore and children's stories. He worked with many forms of literature, but specialized in material with elements of spiritual and emotional conflict, fantasy or social satire. Eichenberg illustrated for authors such as Dostoyevsky, Tolstoy, Emily Bronte, Poe and Shakespeare. His work is shown in museums and galleries around the world. To read more about Fritz Eichenberg, click here or here.
APE IN A CAPE
Written and illustrated by Fritz Eichenberg
Harcourt, Brace and Company, New York, 1952
