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Lot description
Jan C. Vondrous (1884-1970) Czech/American, Antique Framed Etching. Depicts the iconic Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, also known as the Main Branch of the New York Public Library, located on Fifth Avenue at 42nd Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, surrounded by a crowd of people milling in front of the entrance. Signed and dated 1918 in pencil bottom right. Overall Size: 13 3/4 x 16 1/2 in. Sight Size: 8 1/4 x 13 3/4 in. Jan C. Vondrous was born in Chotusice, Czechoslovakia on January 24th, 1884. He emigrated to the United States at an early age and studied etching at the National Academy of Design in New York, as well as painting with George W. Maynard. He became an accomplished architectural etcher, winning a bronze medal for printmaking at the 1915 Panama Pacific Exposition in San Francisco. In 1918 Vondrous returned to Europe for a decade to focus on etching architectural scenes of major cities like Bruges and Venice. During this time he maintained his permanent home and studio in Long Island, but in 1929 he re-settled in his native Czechoslovakia and continued to both etch and paint the people and architecture of Prague. Unlike many architectural etchers who eschewed people and activity in favor of the clean, distinct lines of the structures they focused on, Vondrous was renowned for including crowds, weather, and other dynamic elements in his works. Poor record keeping and his flight across Europe during World War II resulted in many of his early original works being lost, but his works can still be found in the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, the British Museum, and the Smithsonian Institute. He exhibited with the Chicago and Brooklyn Societies of Etchers, as well as with the California Society of Printmakers, and worked with the Hollar Society of Prague right up until his death on June 28th, 1970.