From The Dauer Collection 1930s Woodcut on Paper 17"x24.5" framed, 8"x12" unframedEntitled Tower of the Brooklyn Bridge, this 1930s woodcut print on paper scene is signed in the lower right by the artist H. Paulson Legg. Excellent vintage condition. Framed in a restored vintage wood frame with black finish using archival matting behind conservation clear glass. About the Artist H. Paulson Legg was an American artist of the early to mid 20th century. Very little is recorded about Legg, however three of their pieces (similar woodcuts to this one) are in the permanent collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. About the Collector John A. Dauer (1933-2017) was a collector of many things, the vast majority of which convey stories of hard work, craftsmanship, industry, unsung histories, and associations with those he loved and respected. Born and raised on Staten Island, New York in 1933, John grew up among a close-knit family of entrepreneurial bakers, wood carvers, and leather merchants. He graduated in 1954 from Columbia College with a bachelor’s degree in anthropology. He went on to work with his father John Sr., at the New York City-based John A. Dauer Leather Company. During and after his undergraduate studies, John enrolled in painting, print making, and sculpture classes at Columbia, the New School for Social Research, and Greenwich House. Many of his teachers (including Margot Kempe and Peppino Mangravite) were recent European emigres and WPA artists, sympathetic to the themes of social realism and late modernism. Although he made his living and supported his family as a leather salesman, John consistently maintained an interest in, and passion for, the creative work of artists and craft people throughout his life. The subjects and scale of his collecting varied over the years (from large 18th century cupboards to hand carved fishing lures), but let’s just say his houses and barns often resembled mini-Mercer Museums. During his last 2 decades, John focused his collecting efforts on the work of print makers and painters who reminded him or were directly associated with those who influenced him during his New York youth. Images and the stories of sailors, stevedores, factory workers, craftsmen, pushcart vendors, musicians, stoop sitters, and artists abound.
