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"Birmingham" (Gas Tanks and Skyline), by Richard Blauvelt Coe, (Amer.,1904-1978)
Etching & Aquatint, ca. 1940's-60's, Ed. unknown, this imp.1/4 of 3rd. state, 8 x 8-1/2, signed, titled & numbered in pencil, on cream wove Old Style paper. A great industrial view of Birmingham Alabama by this fine artist, little known outside of his home state, who had a full and diverse career, with scholarships for study at the Grand Central School of Art and travel abroad; touring Europe by bicycle. Upon his return Coe was appointed head of the WPA's art programs for Alabama, collaborating on several murals for public buildings and a series of paintings of Birmingham's steel and iron industry, likely related to this print. Coe lived in many places in the south and New England during his long career and taught in several more, He was a member of the Philadelphia, New Orleans and National Society of Etchers, exhbiting prints all over the country. His final home was in Baltimore. In it's masterful precision, this print reminds me of Earl Horter.