To close the current series of exhibitions at 3 p.m. on Sunday, April 17, Birger Sandzén Memorial Gallery Director, Ron Michael, and Curator, Cori Sherman North, will present a talk about the history of Birger Sandzén’s printmaking and his influence in the region. The PowerPoint lecture will conclude with details about the launch of an online catalogue raisonné documenting all of Sandzén’s 328 known prints and a reception will follow.
Birger Sandzén began creating lithographs at the urging of McPherson art dealer Carl Smalley. His first print proofs, Colorado Pines and Dry Creek, were returned to him on Feb. 12, 1916, and he quickly ordered 50 impressions of each image. Prior to that time, Sandzén would create charcoal drawings in addition to oil paintings and watercolors, and it is assumed that both artist and dealer sought ways to make Sandzén’s works more affordable and accessible. Ketterlinus Lithograph Manufacturing Company in Philadelphia, Penn. had the ability to take an original lithographic crayon drawing done on paper and transfer it to a printable stone. From that, they could print multiple images pulled off the inked stone with near identical qualities of the original. From 1916 through 1952, Sandzén created 207 lithographs – with editions generally running between 50 to 100 each.
Later, in the fall of 1916, Sandzén also began carving block prints – first woodcuts, then linoleum cuts. His initial woodcut was Study of Pines and is one of the few prints actually inked and pulled by the artist. His first experiments are rather crude and often were created with unconventional materials.  For many of the early woodcuts he used a “pointed hard wood stick” or nail to make impressions in soft wood. In 1917 he developed a unique pointillist approach to the art form that his daughter, Margaret, dubbed, “nailcut.” For nailcuts, instead of using gouges or sharp pointy sticks to create the image, he used a square tipped nail with a paddle to pound designs in a dot-like fashion on the flat wood surface.  He created a total of 34 nailcut/woodcut prints and a total of 94 block prints.
In 1918, Sandzén delved into another printmaking medium – drypoint. Drypoint is a process in which a copper or zinc plate is inscribed directly with a sharp steel tool and then inked and run through a high pressure press. The incising leaves a nearly imperceptible ragged edge, or burr, which when printed produces a softness of line that is its distinguishing characteristic. Sandzén produced his first drypoint, Lights and Shadows, in March of 1918 and had a limited production of 27 different plate designs – the last in 1938. Most of the drypoint printing was done in Chicago by professional printer Joseph Leslie Hempstead (1884-1965).
The Sandzén Gallery is located at 401 North First Street in Lindsborg. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and 1 to 5 p.m. on Sunday. The Gallery is closed on Mondays. Admission is free, with donations appreciated. For more information telephone (785) 227-2220 or email fineart@sandzen.org.