Lot 1061: 5 Ernest Pickup TN Woodblock Prints & Book

Ernest Pickup (Tennessee, 1887-1970), five (5) woodblock prints and one (1) copy of the scarce hardback book THE LIFE AND WORK OF ERNEST PICKUP by the artist’s daughter, Beverly St. John, and Gary A. Webb,  published Nashville, TN 2009. The prints include Nashville area scenes and most are illustrated in the book, including New Road to Brentwood TN (see p. 59), Advent (see p. 23), The Old Mill (on the Duck River, see p. 47); Village Street (p. 60). There is also a Christmas Card design not illustrated in the book. Sheet sizes of the prints range from 2 3/4 to 3 3/4 in to 8 x 5 1/2 in. Biography: Ernest A. Pickup, born in Shelbyville, Tennessee, in 1887, was among the first printmakers and commercial artists working in Nashville, as well as the first commercial artist in Tennessee with his own office. He is best known for his woodblocks, a medium through which he faithfully rendered many cultural landmarks in and around Nashville. When the Depression impeded his commercial art career, he began focusing on his woodcuts. During this time he took part in group exhibitions across the United States, such as the Exhibition of Lithographs, Woodcuts, and Block Prints held in New York City in January of 1937. From that show, one of his etchings was selected to travel with the Society of American Etchers, which toured European galleries starting in Stockholm, Sweden, in the winter of 1937. In that same year, Pickup’s work was also featured at the Sixth International Exhibition of Lithography and Wood Engraving, held at the Art Institute of Chicago, and he was once again featured internationally at an exhibition held in Scotland in 1939. (Source: Nashville Arts Magazine). 

CONDITION: Three of the prints are adhered to backing boards, two are hinge mounted at tops. All with toning. Book has some dampstaining to edge, wear to covers.