Primitives

1926

Max Weber

Associated Names
Max Weber

Artist, American, born Russia (now Poland), 1881 - 1961

The Spiral Press

Publisher

Joseph Blumenthal

Printer, American, 1897 - 1990

A. George Hoffman

Printer

The image shows a grid-like pattern of vertical and horizontal lines. Solid and hollow shapes alternate along the edges. In the center of the bottom band are rectangular forms resembling pillars topped with circular shapes. The abstract style features geometric shapes suggesting a minimalist architectural design, reminiscent of a modern city skyline or a decorative border.
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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    bound volume with facsimiles of 10 woodcuts and 1 linocut, including one signed by the artist

  • Credit Line

    Gift of Jack and Margrit Vanderryn

  • Dimensions

    book (closed): 26.51 × 16.51 × 1.11 cm (10 7/16 × 6 1/2 × 7/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    2015.114.21

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

(Kam Art & Book Co., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania); Jack and Margrit Vanderryn, Bethesda, Maryland, 1994; acquired 2015 by the National Gallery of Art

Associated Names

Bibliography

1926

  • Weber, Max. Primitives: Poems and Woodcuts. New York: Spiral Press, 1926.

1982

  • Blumenthal, Joseph. Typographic Years: A Printer's Journey Through a Half Century. New York: Frederic C. Beil, 1982, no. 16.

2002

  • Burk, Efram L. "A Singular Vision: Max Weber's Artist Book, Primitives." Southeastern College Art Conference Review 14, no. 2 (2002): 127-136.

2013

  • Rubenstein, Daryl R. Max Weber: A Catalogue Raisonné of His Graphic Work. San Francisco: Alan Wofsy Fine Arts, 2013, pp. 50, 57.

Inscriptions

center of colophon page in black ink: 35; lower right of Still Life, Two Vases in black ink: Max Weber

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