Thursday, September 01, 2016

Helen Hyde: The Uncatalogued or Unillustrated Prints

Tim Mason's and Lynn Mason's catalog, "Helen Hyde," Smithsonian Institution Press (1991), was published twenty-five years ago as part of the Smithsonian's American Printmakers series.  At the time, it was a seminal catalog, illustrating 127 of Hyde's woodblock prints, etchings, and lithographs, and nothing has been published in the interim to supplant its status as the single most useful reference on Helen Hyde (1868-1919) and her work.


The Masons' catalog, however, is not without its limitations.  For example, nearly two-thirds of the print images in the catalog are shown only in black and white, and 24 of the catalogued prints are not illustrated at all.  In addition, there are a few prints that were omitted from the catalog altogether. 

The Red Curtain (c. 1907) by Helen Hyde
Personal Collection
(preparatory drawing with watercolor for the woodblock print)

The Hired Baby (1909) by Helen Hyde
Personal Collection
(woodblock print with two hand-colored artist proofs)

Given that many of the missing prints are rare designs printed in small quantities and that fact that the catalog was prepared when the World Wide Web was in its infancy and before museums and art dealers started to make digital images of Hyde's prints readily available, such omissions are certainly understandable.  Indeed, six of the missing prints continue to remain frustratingly elusive.

“From My Bedroom Window, Jan. 19, 1913” by Helen Hyde
Personal Collection
(graphite and colored pencil study for the woodblock print "My Neighbors")
 
“Snow On Edge Of Roof Over Tiles”; “Snow On Drawing Tree Pots, 
Feb. 26, 1913”; and “Bamboo Under Snow, Feb. 26, 1913” by Helen Hyde
Personal Collection
(graphite and colored pencil studies for the woodblock print "My Neighbors")

While I have not attempted to upload color images for the prints that the Masons' catalog only showed in black and white (or images of color variants that may exist), I thought it  nonetheless would be useful for collectors and researchers if I assembled in one place images of all of the prints (catalogued or not) that cannot be found in that catalog.  The Masons organized their catalog by date, so I have follow the same convention and adopted their numbering system.  Prints 59A, 113A, and 152-156 are new additions to the catalog.

1. Ah Tim aka "Standing Boy in Purple" (1896) by Helen Hyde
Courtesy of the Jane Vorhees Zimmerli Art Museum, Rutgers University
(color etching)

4. Sausalito (1896) by Helen Hyde
5" x 7" (12.2 cm x 17.8 cm)
 Courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum
(black-and-white etching)

6. Cat and the Cherub (1897) by Helen Hyde
Personal Collection
(color etching)

15. Fort Point (1898) by Helen Hyde
 Courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum
(color etching)

18. A Native Daughter (1898) aka "Girl in Yellow Tunic" by Helen Hyde
Courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum
(color etching)

19. Spring Blossoms (1898) by Helen Hyde
Courtesy of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
(color etching)

Note: Also known as "Little Miss Cherry Blossom" or "Cherry Blossom."

22. The Yellow Boy aka "Chinese Girl" (1898) by Helen Hyde
Courtesy of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
(color etching)

24. A Gentleman of France (1899) by Helen Hyde
7" x 5" (17.8 cm x 12.7 cm)
Courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum
(black-and-white etching)

26. Victuals and Drink (1899) by Helen Hyde
(color etching)

28. In The Snow at Tokyo (1900) by Helen Hyde
Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
(color etching)

39. Little Miss Cherry Blossom aka "Cherry Blossom" (1901 or earlier) by Helen Hyde
(color etching)

Note:  Shiloh McMurtrey in her December 2016 Arizona State University dissertation "Helen Hyde and her 'Children': Influences, Techniques and Business Savvy of an American Japoniste Printmaker" notes that this print does not exist and that it is a little known alternative title to "Spring Blossom" (Mason #19)


53. In Kite Time aka Kite Time (1903) by Helen Hyde
Courtesy of www.hanga.com
(color etching)

58. The Puppy-cat and the Baby (1904) by Helen Hyde
Courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum
(color woodblock print)
 
59A. The Bath (1905) by Helen Hyde
Personal Collection
(color woodblock print)

Note: This is a proof variant of the canonical print design that employs a different pattern on the woman's kimono.

67. Goblin Lanterns (1906) by Helen Hyde
Courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum
(etching with aquatint)

72. The Good-Luck Branch (1907) by Helen Hyde
 Courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum
(color woodblock print)

109. A Javanese "Small Person" (1913) by Helen Hyde
Courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum
(color soft-ground etching)

113A. At the Ferry (1913) by Helen Hyde
 10-13/16" x 8-3/16"
Courtesy of Conrad R. Graeber Fine Art
(color aquatint)

Note: This copy bears an inscription by Hyde's sister "At the Ferry - 1913 - The only copy - not listed.”  Two black-and-white trial proofs are also known to exist.   All three copies now reside at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art at the University of Oregon.

126. The Lucky Branch (1915) by Helen Hyde
Courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum
(color etching)

 
127. Marietta (1915) by Helen Hyde
(black-and-white soft-ground etching)

128. Little Dancer of the "No." (1916) by Helen Hyde
Courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum
(color soft-ground etching)

 
131. Cypress Trees (1917) by Helen Hyde
Courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum
(aquatint)

138. Friday's Child (1918) by Helen Hyde
Courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum
(soft ground etching)

145. Johanna (1918) by Helen Hyde
Courtesy of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
(color soft-ground etching)

148. My Friend Gabriel aka "Gabriel, My Friend" (1918) by Helen Hyde
Courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum
(color soft-ground etching)

Note: Both the Masons' catalog and the Smithsonian catalog list this as a color soft-ground etching, although it looks like it was printed only in brown ink.

  
149. Perturbed (1918) by Helen Hyde
(soft ground etching?)

152. Save The Babies, The Wealth of the Nation (1918) by Helen Hyde
24-1/2" x 17-3/4" (62.25 x 45 cm)
 Personal Collection
(lithographic poster)

 
153.  Love in War (1918)
5" x 3 7/8''
Personal Collection
(etching)

154. By the Light of the Moon (1898)
(etching)

Note: #17 in Shiloh McMurtrey in her December 2016 Arizona State University dissertation "Helen Hyde and her 'Children': Influences, Techniques and Business Savvy of an American Japoniste Printmaker."  It was exhibited at the Sketch Club 12th Semi-Annual Exhibition in Oakland, California in December 1898.

155. The Golden-Gate (1898)
(etching)

Note: #19 in Shiloh McMurtrey in her December 2016 Arizona State University dissertation "Helen Hyde and her 'Children': Influences, Techniques and Business Savvy of an American Japoniste Printmaker." This print is described in the San Francisco Chronical (Feb. 12, 1899) as the "View of the Golden Gate [Bridge] as it appears from [Hyde's] studio window."

156. Cherry Blossoms Overhead (unknown date)
5" x 4"
Courtesy of Eldred's
(etching)

Note: I have included this last etching in an abundance of caution, but I believe that the auction house's attribution to Hyde is incorrect.  The signature is unreadable and the print employs a single "H" monogram, rather than Hyde's customary double "H" monogram.   Moreover, to this eye, the children are stylistically unlike those found in Hyde's other prints.

 *   *    *

 Miniature Portrait of Helen Hyde (1911) by Carolyn D. Tyler
Personal Collection
(paint on ceramic)

 His First Joss Stick (1899) by Helen Hyde
(watercolor on board)
Personal Collection
 
 His First Temple Offering (The Joss Stick) 
Antikamnia Calendar (1903) by Helen Hyde
(photolithograph on board)
Personal Collection

Back of calendar
Personal Collection

If you are aware of additional Hyde prints not found in the Masons'  catalog, or have images of "By the Light of the Moon," "The Golden-Gate," "Victuals and Drink,"  "Marietta," "Cypress Trees," or "Perturbed," please let me know so I can revise and update this post accordingly.

Ex libris (1919) in Memory of Helen Hyde,
based on her print The Good-Luck Branch (1907),
pencil signed by Park? Phipps
Personal Collection

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