Henry Eric Bergman created over 90 fine art wood engravings. These themed grouping represent the artist’s work from the 1920s to the 1950s. Most of his intended editions of 50-75 prints of each image were never completed. As few as 10 prints may have been made by the artist of any one image. They are printed on very fine laid Japan rice paper with uneven edges and are typically signed and numbered. Many of these prints have found their way into public gallery collections, although some continue to appear through art dealers and auctions or estate sales.
About Wood Engraving: Wood engraving is done on the end grain of prepared wood blocks with fine tools called gravers, spit sticks, and tint tools. The engraved block is prepared for the press, it’s surface is inked, and printed on paper. Wood that is engraved away appears as white lines on an otherwise black print. An extreme delicacy of line and value is possible. Wood engraving was used widely in commercial printing, but became obsolete. It continues to be used in book illustration and as a fine art print medium since the first decades of the twentieth century.
Click on the image to open the folder. Click on a thumbnail in the folder for a larger view of the image. Or click on “show slideshow” to scroll through automatically.