For immediate release: October 9, 2019
Contact: Susan Strano, Marketing Director
802-447-1571 ext. 204
sstrano@benningtonmuseum.org
Image:
Summer Sabbath, c. 1946
Asa Cheffetz (1896-1965)
Wood engraving on paper, 5 1/2 x 7 7/8 inches (image)
Lost Vermont Images Collection at the Vermont Country Store
Asa Cheffetz: Vermont Wood Engravings
This fall on view in the Regional Artists Gallery of the Bennington Museum is the meticulous work of print maker Asa Cheffetz (1896-1965). His wood engravings served as printing plates and from those came beautiful prints, many of them included in Asa Cheffetz: Vermont Wood Engravings, on view through December 30.
Born in Buffalo, NY in 1886, Cheffetz moved to Massachusetts as a young boy and lived most of his life there. Directly from high school, he went to the School of the Museum of Fine Arts where he studied with Philip Hale. He went on to study drawing and etching in New York at the National Academy of Design. World War I interrupted his studies, but upon his discharge he returned to the Academy, however his studies were cut short when he was pulled back home to help with the family business. In 1927, he visited Old Deerfield and it was that trip that inspired him to once again take up his artistic activities. This time he specifically followed his passion for the New England landscape in the medium of wood engraving. He went on to produce wood engravings, etchings, and block prints, but he is best known for his mastery of wood engravings, a talent primarily self-taught.
During the 1930s and 40s, Cheffetz produced most of his highly detailed wood engravings. Inspired by the Vermont countryside, his landscapes portray his strong affection for the land and his simple yet detailed blends of the hills, sky and water. Expressed in rich blacks and stark whites, negative and positive spaces, he blended the strength and starkness of Vermont’s countryside with his own affection for the land. Known to be a perfectionist, he personally printed his engravings paying meticulous attention to the detail and gradations of each piece.
About the Museum
Bennington Museum is located at 75 Main Street (Route 9), Bennington, in The Shires of Vermont. The Museum is open daily, 10 am to 5 pm June through October. It is wheelchair accessible. Regular admission is $10 for adults, $9 for seniors and students over 18. Admission is never charged for younger students, museum members, those presenting an EBT card, or to visit the museum shop. Visit the museum’s website www.benningtonmuseum.org or call 802-447-1571 for more information.
Bennington Museum is a member of ArtCountry, a consortium of notable art and performance destinations in the scenic northern Berkshires of Massachusetts and southern Green Mountains of Vermont, including The Clark Art Institute, Williams College Museum of Art , Williamstown Theatre Festival (20 minutes away); and MASS MoCA (25minutes away). Visit ArtCountry.org for more information on these five great cultural centers.