"Oklahoma Washes" 1934, Woodcut.

Edition: Not stated, but probably very small. Signed and dated in pencil, lower right; name "Erixon" also in the block, lower right; titled, lower left.

Image: 12 x 9 inches (304 x 228 mm). Sheet: 14 1/2 x 11 1/8 inches (362 x 282 mm).

Excellent condition. Good margins. Printed on light weight off-white laid paper. Remnants of old matting tape on the upper left and right corners, coming to within 1/4 inch (6 mm) of the upper left corner of the impression. This problem is over-matted. One other small piece of matting tape is found at the lower right corner of the sheet, but is well away from image. Small specks of inked wood dot the sky.

An early print of the Dust Bowl and coincident erosion. As the title describes, the image depicts erosion activity in an Oklahoma wash. 1934 marked the first year of a severe multiyear drought, Erixon, an instructor in the Art Department at the University of Oklahoma, Norman, was obviously in tune with the problems occurring in her State and here illustrated one problem of Oklahoma's "Dirty Thirties."

Very little information exists on this important artist. In 1926, she was a graduate of the University of Oklahoma's School of Fine Arts (BFA to Florence Mercedes Erixon), overseen by Oscar Jacobson. Possibly prior to her degree she was hired by the Art Department as Head of Art Education. On December 24, 1928, she married Adelbert Hoshall, and off and on over the years seems to work under the names, Mercedes Erixon, Mercedes Erixon Hoshall, or Mercedes Hoshall. In 1938 she illustrated a small book (Radium: Lost and Found) under the name Mercedes Hoshall. In the early 1930s she used the name Mercedes Erixon when signing her work.

This particular print is presented with a Kansas City Art Institute exhibit tag. The exhibit tag is not dated but probably stems from about the time the print was created.

$500.00

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