"Pieces of Silver" 1936, Lithograph.

Edition: 33. Signed in pencil, lower right and on reverse. Titled, lower left and on reverse.

Image: 12 3/4 x 11 1/2 inches (323 x 292 mm). Sheet: 18 x 12 1/2 inches (457 x 317 mm).

References: America Artists' Congress 1936 #82; Ryan 1986:26 #56; Langa 2004:192-194, 193; Masteller 1989:39; and numerous other books on American art.

Excellent condition. Generous margins, top and bottom; slight margins, left and right (probably as issued). A fine impression on white wove paper. On the back, in Gellert's very neat hand are two pencil annotations, one reading: "Pieces of Silver, Lithograph, $5.00, 50 Prints." The second notation reads: "Hugo Gellert, 620 Riverside Dr., New York." A few handling marks in the far margins.

Mention of the edition size needs to be made. Although Gellert asserts the edition as 50, subsequent research by Mary Ryan (who accessed Gellert's notes) indicates that only 33 were printed and these were primarily issued in portfolio form, as "Aesop Said So."

Pieces of Silver is one of the classic prints of the 1930s. The print was originally shown in the American Artists' Congress exhibitions, held simultaneously in thirty American cities. Additionally, it was published in the exhibits accompanying book "America Today: A Book of 100 Prints" (America Artists' Congress 1936 #82). Aside from the portfolio mentioned above Gellert used an image of the print in the trade publication of "Aesop Said So" (Gellert 1936) but under the alternative titles "Father Coughlin," "Father Coughlin and His Flock," or "The Blind Man and the Wolf's Cub." Gellert's fable accompanying the lithograph reads as follows:

     A Blind Man was able to tell any animal by merely touching it with his hands. Once
     they brought him a Wolf's Cub. He felt it all over, and being in doubt, said: "I know
     not whether thy father was a Dog or a Wolf; but this I know, that I would not
     trust thee among a flock of sheep."

This print has become an icon of political illustration and popular dissent. An extremely rare and important print.   

$2600.00