May GEARHART

A central figure in early 20th-century California printmaking,  May Gearhart (1872–1951) worked primarily in soft-ground color etching and block printing, producing prints rendered in delicate contour lines softened with muted tones—a harmonious synthesis of Arts & Crafts aesthetics and Japanese color-print influence.

Born in Illinois and raised in Pasadena, Gearhart taught art in the Los Angeles and Berkeley public schools for decades. Her studio in Pasadena became the informal hub of the California print community. With her two sisters, she maintained it as a meeting place and exhibition space for West Coast printmakers to gather and showcase their work. During her lifetime, she exhibited widely across the United States, in shows at LACMA, the Brooklyn Museum, the Smithsonian, and national exhibitions of the American Federation of Arts—before failing eyesight forced her to stop printmaking around 1940.

May GEARHART - Flower Seller - Color drypoint, soft-ground, and aquatint - circa 1930 - detail Sold
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Flower Seller

GEARHART, May

Color drypoint, soft-ground, and aquatint on simili-Japan paper, circa 1930. No known edition. Scarce. Subtitled in pencil "Festival Day in the Bla...

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May GEARHART - Best Hat - Color drypoint, soft-ground, and aquatint - circa 1930 - detail Sold
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Best Hat

GEARHART, May

Color drypoint, soft-ground, and aquatint on simili-Japan paper, circa 1930. No known edition. Scarce. Subtitled in pencil "Festival Day in the Bla...

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