Halted

Woodcut printed on very thin Japan paper, no date. 
There is no stated edition, and this print may very well be a unique impression. 
Signed and titled in pencil. 

This amazingly dynamic composition depicting a line of scrimmage of American football is unique in more ways than one. This print depicts the sport at a time when few artists would have chosen it as a subject. The leather helmets which do not yet have protective face masks suggest a date of circa 1935. It is also clearly inspired by German Expressionist woodcuts which Scalzo would have only been exposed to firsthand while she studied at the Art Institute in Chicago. Our print was created by a woman artist, depicting a burly male activity, in a mostly rural part of the country. That such an artist, who had only spent two years in the big city would create such a strong, unique, and sophisticated woodcut, printed on a kind of paper you didn’t exactly find at the corner store, is simply stunning in many ways. It is an amazing testament to creative excellence by a woman, in a part of the country where her existence as an artist would have mattered to few. 
Very few prints and equally few other types of art by this artist have been documented. This is surprising given she was active most of her life. The question of the whereabouts of her oeuvre is one that needs answering.