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The Chinese Vase
HALL THORPE, John
Color woodcut on thick wove paper.Reference: King 4.Edition unknown, but seemingly made up of impressions with a high degree of variation.Published...
View full detailsJohn HALL THORPE
John Hall Thorpe (1874-1947), known mostly as Hall Thorpe, was born in Sandridge, Australia. His family moved a few times during his childhood before settling in Sidney. It is unclear whether Hall Thorpe completed high school, but he is known to have studied at the Society of Arts. He then became an engraver and later a staff artist at the Sydney Mail. He worked at the Mail from 1891 to 1900. The advent of photography saw the need for his talents in diminishing demand at the mail. Hall Thorpe decided to leave for England, where he ended up living for the remainder of his life. In London he attended an independent art school, Heatherley School of Fine Art and developed his distinctive style of color woodcut. It is unclear what Hall Thorpe did during the war years. For most of his life he seems to have been dedicated to his craft of creating his own designs, carving his own blocks, printing them on his own press and often selling his own work. His color woodcuts often depict flowers, mostly in vases, as well as scenic landscapes. Certain compositions use bright colors, while others turn towards a more muted pallet. Hall Thorpe liked to vary the colors in his editions, sometimes even printing black backgrounds to compositions, which would otherwise have simply shown the paper.
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