Anders Aldrin. 1889-1970.
California Hills. c. 1935. Woodcut printed in colors. 11 3/8 x 13 1/2 (sheet 13 x 15 1/2). Edition 150, #9. Printed on the full sheet of Japanese mulberry paper.Published by the artist in conjunction with the Federal Art Project, WPA (Works Progress Administration). With artist's monogram AGA in the block, lower right. The artist carved the block and printed the impression. Signed titled, numbered and annotated '3' in pencil. $1,250.
California Hills was printed in regular numbered editions by Aldrin, in slightly different combinations of colors on the hills and distant mountains.
Anders Gustave Aldrin was born in Värmland, Sweden. In 1911, he immigrated to the United States because his family did not support his desire to become an artist. He initially settled in Minnesota, served in the U.S. army during World War I, and by 1923 he had relocated to California. The following year Aldrin enrolled at the Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles for a four-year program. While at Otis he received the Huntington Assistance Award and a full scholarship to the Santa Barbara School of Art where he learned Japanese-style woodblock printing from Frank Morley Fletcher (1866-1949) who had joined the staff in 1924. In 1928 Aldrin spent six months in San Francisco at the California School of Fine Arts before returning to the Los Angeles area where he remained throughout his career.
Aldrin's earliest woodblock prints date to 1928, and he continued to produce prints until 1937. In addition to woodblock prints, Aldrin produced oil, acrylic and watercolor paintings, pastels and lithographs. He was a member of the California Art Club, California Water Color Society, and the Los Angeles Art Association. He exhibited widely, including institutions such as Los Angeles County Museum of Art in 1924, and again in 1941 in a solo show; Santa Barbara Museum; Oakland Art Gallery in 1931; and another solo show at the Pasadena Museum in 1945.
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