%C2%A9 Estate of Walter J. Phillips
Poplar Bay (Lake of the Woods), 1930
Walter J. Phillipsexpand_more
Color woodcutexpand_more
Gift of Marla J. Kinneyexpand_more 2017.68
Not on Viewexpand_more
Walter J. Phillips described Lake of the Woods—the enormous expanse of water and islands that Minnesota shares with Canada—as a place where every object could be a “shrine for beauty.” That is the feel of Poplar Bay, where an elegant, weather-beaten pine angles toward the shoreline, beckoning boaters to what could be the best campsite on the bay. Today, nearly 90 years later, the tree is gone but the rocks are exactly the same.
Phillips taught himself to make color woodcuts in 1917, five years after he and his young family emigrated from England to Winnipeg, Canada. Many prints have the same transparency and precision as Poplar Bay, a look he perfected as a successful watercolorist in England. Not surprisingly, he began each new woodcut by making a watercolor of the image. Because he loved the sheer effort of crafting things by hand, he followed the Japanese woodblock method, which called for carving a separate block for each color. To make the shimmering area in the water literally sparkle, he coated his paper with starch and powdered pigment before applying his colors, a technique he learned from a Japanese printmaker. He also learned how to layer his pigments to achieve unusual colors, seen here in the blue-brown combination on the tree trunk.
Details
- Title
- Poplar Bay (Lake of the Woods)
- Artist Life
- Canadian (born England), 1884–1963
- Role
- Artist
- Accession Number
- 2017.68
- Provenance
- Private collection, Winnipeg, Manitoba; by descent (until 2015; sold, June to Mayberry);[Mayberry Fine Art, Winnipeg, Manitoba; 2015-2017]
- Curator Approved
This record has been reviewed by our curatorial staff but may be incomplete. These records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@artsmia.org.
Does something look wrong with this image? Let us know
© Estate of Walter J. Phillips