"The Christmas Tree"

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(1971)

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"The Christmas Tree" 1971, color lithograph on Arches, 660x514mm; 26" x 20 1/4", full margins. Signed and numbered in pencil, lower margin. Printed by Bank Street Atelier, with the blindstamp, lower right. Published by Brooke Alexander,Inc., and M. Knoedler and Company, Inc., New York. A very good impression [Ludman 21].

Joan Ludman stated, "Porter's lithographic achievement ranks with his painted oeuvre.  The color lithographs demonstrate painterly rather than graphic concerns; yet in translating his watercolor technique into the graphic medium, he achieved his aim of producing works with a vitality and an independent life of their own".

At Bank Street Atelier in January, 1971, Porter began work on "The Table", "The Christmas Tree" and "Girl in the Woods". It was while at the Bank Street Atelier that Porter worked with a French printer who had worked with Edouard Vuillard imparting techniques to Porter that he regarded as essential in his graphic art skills.

Before starting work on each lithograph, Porter painted a watercolor of the planned image. The Bank Stree Atelier curator, Chip Elwell, then describes Porter's lithographic technique - "the technical means Porter used to finesse fresh, clear prints was careful application and control of tusche, a greasy solution of water and black pigment. The prints relate strongly to his watercolors in their technical approach, but differ importantly in that they depend heavily on overprinting, involve a basically subtractive approach, and work within strict palette choices".

"Porter painted his stones and plates with tusche, using stronger or weaker solutions to give varying amounts of his final choice of color for each individual plate.  Once drawn, the plates are fresh looking and the possibilities for changing the color to be printed are still open, but possibilities for changing the image are narrow if the freshness is to be maintained.  In direct contrast to watercolor they are all subtractive.  Local areas of any color might still be restrained or removed altogether with acid, but precise color choices are limited to the number of plates printed. The subtlety, richness, and deceptive simplicity that Porter maintained were the results of carefully engineering the available combinations that overprinting afford.  In the area above the table surface in "The Table", for instance, Porter dumped everything available and then carefully removed to approach the value of temperature he wanted".

"The Christmas Tree" is in a Hermitage green Larson-Juhl "Bolshi" 42 1/2" x 36 5/8" 'Craig Ponzio' collection frame.  The Larson-Juhl smooth silver wood fillet echoes the frame.  The white linen outer and natural gray inner rag mats are acid and lignin free and protected with Acrylite-AR OP3 (UV) by CYRO ....... $3,900.00