Description
“Almonds in Glass” is an original, signed mezzotint etching created by Nobuo Sato in 1971.
Annotations
Pencil dated after signature and with edition number in the lower left. Edition size: 50. This artwork has been stored in an architectural flat-file drawer. Ours is a smoke-free adult environment. Very clean surface. All of our prints are kept in tissue and/or plastic sleeves and mailed flat to ensure safe travels. I had acquired this artwork at an estate sale in Newport, Rhode Island.
About Nobuo Sato (a.k.a Nobuo Satoh)
Nobuo was born in Kanagawa, Japan in 1926. He is mainly known for his etchings and mezzotints. A member of the Japan Print Association, his works are in various museum collections (i.e. in the MoMa, New York). In 1983 he had a solo exhibition in London, in 1985 a group exhibition in Houston, and a solo exhibition in Tokyo in 1988. His work has been published in book form, and he contributed to the series of 100 prints, 100 New Views of Tokyo, a Message to the 21st Century, initiated by the Japan Print Association about 1990.
- Nobuo Sato’s work is sought after worldwide by those who appreciate is pristine prints. The following museums include Sato’s mezzotints:
- Museum of Modern Art, NYC
- National Museum of Modern Art in Kyoto, Japan
- Cincinnati Art Museum in Cincinnati, Ohio
- Aichi Prefecture Art Museum
- Indianapolis Museum of Art
My Acquisition
This exemplar was bought at an estate auction in Bedford, New York. Once acquired, I removed the image from the dirty, dusty frame, and discolored matting. The piece was immediately shrink-wrapped and placed in the flat-file drawer. This is an outstanding work of art using the mezzotint etching technique. ‘Almonds in Wine Glass’ has a deep dark coloration almost black yet dark grey.
About Mezzotint Printing
Japanese artists have a fine tradition of beautiful printmaking. Nobuo Satoh was an artist who mastered mezzotint printing. Mezzotint is a dry-point process where the artist uses spiked steel rockers to create a dense mass of burrs in a copper plate. This creates a printing plate that carries a high volume of ink which when printed creates rich deep color. To get the subtle shading for an illustration the artist burnishes and scrapes the plate to reduce the density and create tones. Read more about Mezzotint Printing.
See more artwork by Nobuo Satoh here.