"The Lord Provides" 1934, Lithograph.

Edition: Final proof before printing. Signed, Burck, extreme lower right corner of sheet. Titled in pencil, The Lord Provides, on the reverse.

Image: 12 x 9 1/16 inches (304 x 230 mm). Sheet: 15 3/4 x 11 5/16 inches (399 x 287 mm).

References: Katz 1999:60, 61, 82; Langa 2004:79, 80, 102; Flint 1980:8-10 #29.

Excellent condition. Good margins. Printed on buff BFK wove paper. The final proof for the printing of The Lord Provides. Burke's notation "OK" to printer George Miller is applied in the lower right corner, immediately to the left of Burke's signature. Other pencil annotations to George Miller occur in the lower left corner of the sheet. One of which states, "100 Buff," indicating the approval of 100 prints to be pulled on buff paper.

A print of the Contemporary Print Group first folio - 1934. This image was originally slated to be produced in an edition of 300 and to be distributed by The Contemporary Print Group. The Group planned two portfolios to be released throughout 1933 and 1934. This print was to be included in the first production. The first portfolio, The American Scene No. 1, was priced at $15.00 ($2.50 per print) and was intended to be distributed to subscribers only. The first issue consisted of six prints done by six artists: George Biddle, Jacob Burck, Adolf Dehn, George Grosz, Reginald Marsh, and Jose Orozco. However, when the public failed to respond to the offer the original edition size of 300 was quickly dropped. The first print by Marsh (Union Square), was printed to the planned 300, the second, by Orozco (Negroes), was lowered to 150, and all successive prints apparently to 50 (see Flint (1980) for a discussion of the various edition sizes). All lithographs were printed by George Miller. Of this print, Katz (1999:61) noted:

With its forceful crayon strokes and strong irony. The Lord Provides reflects
Jacob Burke's training under master political cartoonist Boardman Robinson. He
quickly absorbed Robinson's political radicalism, and his Fourteenth Street studio
became a meeting place for leftists.

An interesting and increasingly important American political print.

 $2500.00