On the Roof Garden. 1919. Mezzotint. Leicester Galleries 53, Guichard 32, Black 57. 8 1/4 x 4 5/8. Edition 50. New York set. A richly inked impression printed on laid paper, with full margins. Nevinson made only 6 mezzotints. A superb impression of this rare print. Nevinson captures the essential spirit of the flapper. Signed in pencil.
In his short-lived Futurist period, he was absorbed in a celebration of speed, choosing as his subjects locomotion or dance. In the early war images, it was regimentation that most benefited from a Futurist treatment. In the post-war images of city life, the jettisoned avant-garde styles would be brought back, on occasion almost tongue-in-cheek, as a satire of the phony self-consciousness of modern dance routines, for instance, in a New York night club scene variously titled Doing the Shimmy or Americanism." (page 45). "In 1919, Nevinson declared to the press, 'I hope to concentrate on industrialism or anything connected with human activity in fact. Human activity is my definition of beauty.'" (page 45).
A selection of fine prints by Christopher Nevinson is available on the Allinson Gallery, Inc. website:
