| Henry Wolf | ||
| Birth Date: 1852 |
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| Death Date: 1916 Artist Gallery |
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| Henry Wolf was born in 1852 in Eckwersheim, France, moving to New York City in 1871. He was the premier wood engraver in America from the late 1800’s until his death in 1916. Before photography, wood engraving was used as an inexpensive method to reproduce drawings and paintings in periodicals. Requiring great skill, the engraving of the wood block must be done in reverse.
Wolf primarily copied portraits of “great” artists such as John Singer Sargent, Gilbert Stuart Frank Weston Benson, Jan Vermeer, Edouard Manet and Jean Leon Gerome. His prints were publicized in the three most popular literary magazines of the time: “Century Magazine,” “Harper’s Monthly,” and “Scribner’s Magazine.” The subject of the museum's piece, "Jean Leon Gerome," was a French painter and sculptor.
Wolf's work went beyond craft and technical ability because he gave his subjects a personality and life of their own. He was recognized for his work in 1915, the year before his death, when he was awarded the Grand Prize in printmaking at the 1915 Panama Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco, an exhibition still of importance for bringing together art from around the world. Wolf exhibited 144 wood engravings at this Exposition.
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