The exhibitions begin with an exploration of the works of Roth’s nineteenth-century precursors, James McNeill Whistler and his circle including Otto Bacher (1856-1909), Mortimer Menpes (Australian, 1860-1938), and Joseph Pennell (1860-1926). The following sections examine Roth’s Venetian etchings, relating the prints to both nineteenth century artists and the works of his better known American contemporary, John Taylor Arms (1887-1953) as well as his close Venetian friend and colleague Fabio Mauroner (1884-1948). A final section includes Venetian prints by some of Roth’s most accomplished contemporaries, including Herman Webster (1878-1970), Sydney Litten (British, 1887-1949), James McBey (Scottish, 1883-1959) Donald Shaw MacLaughlan (Canadian, 1876-1952), John Marin (1870-1953) and Jan Vondrous (Czech-American, 1884-1956). Unless otherwise noted, the prints and drawings in the exhibitions are from a private collection that is a partial and promised gift to the Trout Gallery of Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

Overview

In 1880, the American expatriate printmaker James McNeill Whistler pioneered etchings depicting a “Venezia minore,” focusing not on tourist monuments, but on representing what he

called a “Venice of the Venetians.” His etchings and pastels emphasized small squares, back alleys, and isolated canals rather than the traditional sights of San Marco, the Grand Canal, and the Rialto Bridge. Whistler chose an economic style for his depictions, suggesting rather than

simply recording the detailed contrasts of light and shadow and the reflections of architecture on water. He also refused to draw his plates in reverse of the observed topography, resulting in the rendering of all of his Venetian subjects as mirror images of the actual sights. (The etching technique itself produces a reversal of the design on the plate during the printing process.) His followers capitalized on Whistler’s approach to Venice–his attention to more typical local Vene-tian scenes and his refusal to produce simply souvenirs of accurate locations of the lagoon city.

The etchers of the following generation revered Whistler’s work, even as they sought their own personal visions of Venice. Ernest Roth arrived in Venice in 1905, the year he began

etching. His early work was shown in the 7th International Venice Biennale of 1907 where they were purchased by Queen Margherita of Italy, a signal achievement. Over the next 35 years Roth returned frequently to Venice to capture various aspects of La Serenissima. At the 22nd Biennale in 1938 he was invited to exhibit his work in the Black and White section of the main Italian Pavilion.

In the 1920s Scottish printmaker James McBey captured Whistler’s sense of the Venetian atmosphere in a series of evocative prints, while the MIT trained Louis Rosenberg produced

Mortimer Luddington Menpes, (Australian, 1860-1938). Piazzetta and Ducal Palace, c. 1910. Etching and drypoint.

Reflections & Undercurrents: Ernest Roth and Printmaking in Venice, 1900–1940“Surely if good Americans go to Paris when they die, all

good etchers go to Venice both before and after.”

Helen Fagg, Fine Prints of the Year, 1926

Ernest David Roth (1879-1964) was one of the most significant American view etchers of the first half of the twentieth century. His work ranged from important images of New York and

Paris to exotic panoramas of Istanbul and Segovia. His most important achievements, however, are his prints of Italy, in particular the approximately 50 views he did of Venice from 1905 to 1940. In these etchings, Roth employed a supple line and rich tone that captures the essence of Venetian architecture in the clear light of the Venetian lagoon. Roth’s Venetian masterworks have never been the subject of an independent exhibition, catalogue, or book. This exhibition, in collaboration with the Kohl Gallery at Washington College in Chestertown, brings together Roth’s most important Venetian views with prints by both his predecessors and his most important artistic contemporaries.

Ernest David Roth (American,1879-1964). Near the Rialto, Venice, 1906. Etching.

Ernest David Roth (1879-1964). Reflections, Venice, 1906. Etching.

Organized by the Trout Gallery, Dickinson College.

This exhibition is generously supported by the Helena Foundation.

Funding and support for this exhibition is provided in part by Anne Arundel County, the Arts Council

of Anne Arundel County, the City of Annapolis, The Helena Foundation, Ken’s Creative Kitchen, the

Maryland State Arts Council, the Estate of Elizabeth Myers Mitchell, Mitchell Gallery Board of Advisors,

Members of the Mitchell Gallery, the Mitchell Gallery Endowment, Mitchell Gallery Next Generation

Committee, Mrs. Ruth Mitchell, the John and Hilda Moore Fund, the National Endowment for the Arts, the

Lillian Vanous Nutt Mitchell Gallery Endowment, and the Clare Eddy and Eugene V. Thaw Fine Arts Fund.

St. John’s College60 College Avenue

Annapolis, MD 21401410.626.2556

www.stjohnscollege.edu

Campo San Giacomo dell’Orio, and Campo San Giovanni in Bragora spring to life as outposts of Venetian everyday experience, whether of the daily fish and flea markets, or on civic and religious holidays. Fabio Mauroner, well known in Venice but little recognized today in America, demonstrated as high a level of dedication to his craft as his American counterparts while representing a uniquely local approach to Venetian imagery. Mauroner’s friend and colleague Emanuele Brugnoli also captured Venice in both its familiar monumental forms and in its everyday life and special holidays. The inclusion of these contemporary Italian printmakers contributes to a richer and fuller understanding of the achievements of Ernest Roth and other American and foreign artists in Venice in the first half of the twentieth century.

Eric Denker, Curator

James McBey (Scottish, 1883-1959). Palazzo dei Cammerlenghi, 1930. Etching.

Cover: Fabio Mauroner (Italian, 1884-1948).Il Traghetto, 1907. Etching and drypoint.seven prints that reflect his approach to Venetian architecture. In the early 1930s, Roth’s good

friend John Taylor Arms executed ten etchings of Venice in a meticulous architectural style, half of them directly inspired by Roth’s earlier choice of Venetian subjects. Roth, Rosenberg, and Arms were the nucleus of a circle of American printmakers that created a timeless vision of European and American landscape in the 1920s and 30s. Each had also depicted London and Paris and smaller picturesque towns in France and Italy, but the Venetian views are at the center of their accomplishment. Curiously, although these printmakers were generally attracted to the beauty of Italy, and Venice in particular, the great capital of Rome was almost entirely ignored.

In the early twentieth century, Roth’s close friend, the Italian printmaker Fabio Mauroner, depicted the everyday experience and lives of contemporary Venetians. Unlike foreign

visitors, Mauroner knew a Venice that only a longtime resident and native speaker could know, and he captured it in a series of brilliantly drawn images. He celebrated the typical quotidian life of the city as well as important religious feasts and holidays. Mauroner differed from those foreigners such as Arms, McBey, and Roth who visited the city, for they had conceived of Venice as a series of picturesque views but did not convey the day-to-day lives of the Venetians. This was, in fact, what Whistler originally had claimed to have discovered, “the Venice of the Venetians.” In Mauroner’s work, the images of the neglected squares of Campo Santa Margarita,

Donald Shaw MacLaughlan (Canadian, 1876-1952). The Salute, 1926. Etching.

Reflections & UndercurrentsErnest Roth and Printmaking

in Venice, 1900–1940October 25 – December 13, 2013

The Mitchell GallerySt. John’s College