Name this print

November 29, 2011 3:43 PM

Help ID an old print or two.

Found an old art book at a thrift store that had a bunch of old prints/lithos in them. Several of them I have identified but there is one I am having a hard time with. It's a woodcut and is signed but I cant make out the artist. Figured I would turn to metafilter for help.

The book itself is signed David H. Frantz or Frank 1920. The woodcut is of a woman working at a printing press I believe. It is signed 'Printed especially for David Frantz' then her name. It looks like Maureen or Marion or Miriam but its hard to tell. Last name is illegible to me. Maybe a John??

Here is the woodcut

I tweaked the levels in photoshop on the signature. Here is the detail on the print

I also have another charcoal by someone named Barday. It's of Notre Dame. View it here

Google is failing on that second one. Not much info. I have a feeling he was probably just a street artist in Paris in the 40's from what I gather but any insight would be cool.

Thanks again metafilter!

posted by WickedPissah to media & arts (5 answers total)

This will likely not be much help, but those Barday/Barclay lithographs are all over the net. Try searching for "notre dame" barclay. Looks like no one else knows who it is, but whoever they were...they were prolific. Kind of intriguing, really. You'd think, with the number of these out in the wild, someone else would have dug it up already.
posted by routergirl at 4:05 PM on November 29, 2011

Some other people who've dug up a little bit on the barday/barclay.
posted by routergirl at 4:14 PM on November 29, 2011

The Barday Art Group is only available at Internet Archive. Sadly, they were not able to dig up much but it may give you a few leads.
posted by unliteral at 8:16 PM on November 29, 2011

I'd say the wood cut clearly vamps on Vermeer.


That's all I got.
posted by humboldt32 at 10:49 PM on November 29, 2011

Thanks for the help on Barday. Weird that there isn't any real info about him/her but whatever. Would love any suggestions on the woodcut if anyone has any ideas. I dig it and would love to know the artist.
posted by WickedPissah at 3:05 PM on November 30, 2011