“…A gifted group of artist-professors who, through their creative and innovative approach to the teaching of printmaking, helped to initiate a renaissance in printmaking that has become a singular addition to twentieth century American artistic expression.” — Clare Romano, artist.
Ms. Romano was referring to a creative outburst that occurred in Wisconsin, centered at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, in the 1950s and 1960s. Having lived in Madison briefly and then in Milwaukee during that period and having with a strong interest in art, I was keenly aware of the phenomenon.
Upon leaving the state to work for a Wisconsin congressman in Washington D.C., I decided to buy prints by several of the university’s notable printmakers and hang them in the legislator’s office to bring them some notice on Capitol Hill. When the congressman proved amenable, I contacted Warrington Colescott, the leader of the artist-professors, about the project and he was interested.
My first move was to purchase a Colescott print called “Park Sunday,” shown here. Although the artist is best known for his witty and satirical rendering of historical and contemporary events, my choice was a print that showed bicycles and riders racing against a wooded background. Colescott’s ability to represent speed fascinated me. He was gracious enough to arrange for framing and later came to the Washington office to see the print and the small display. 
Colescott in turn recommended a print by his close Madison colleague, Dean Meeker. Meeker was one of the first printmakers to overprint silk-screens with polymer intaglio and, and to that end, he co-invented a motorized etching press. The combination of those techniques allowed him to build images that were so seemingly three-dimensional that, as one critic said, they “almost dance and sing.” Although my print gave the illusion of three dimensions, the figure stayed firmly on the paper. Titled in French “Le Vitrier,” and shown here, it is of a glazier fitting a window in front of what appears to be a jumble of street signs.
The third artwork from my “Hill project” was an etching by Harold Altman, a prolific draftsman who produced more than 1,200 editions of lithographs and etchings during his 65 years as an artist. Critics lauded his “mastery of endless variation on a simple theme,” and praised his ability to reveal the extraordinary within the ordinary. The print is one of those subjects to which Altman returned frequently — a poignant scene of two women talking in a park as figures emerge from the background. Although Altman is not closely identified with the Wisconsin “school,” my recollectoion is that he spent some time in Madison.
Another Wisconsin printmaker of note was Eugene Mecikalski, an artist-professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He was a well-regarded local artist who provided a range of prints depicting scenes in and around Milwaukee. I was drawn to his color lithograph “Bird Signs” because it captured so well autumn in city as the light dims earlier and earlier and the birds begin their migration south.
A more traditional printmaker was Glenn Villwock, a respected Wisconsin artist active for many years in the Milwaukee area. He was an art instructor to my mother-in-law to whom he presented this woodcut entitled “Coming Berkshire Storm,” a gift which we have now inherited. It is our second Villwock, added to a humorous print of a goat purchased at a local art fair.
The final Wisconsin printmaker was a friend, Neil Fischer, who was the staff artist of the Marquette University Journal, the literary publication of which I was editor in 1956-1957. He lithographed a series of four superb covers for the magazine. He later gave me a picture related to one. It shows students walking on busy Wisconsin Avenue in the vicinity of the Marquette Library.
In time, the display in the congressional office had to be moved. The prints migrated to our home where they hung for many years. As we gathered more art some original prints were relegated to storage. Two years ago I contacted the Museum of Wisconsin Art (MOWA) in West Bend, shown below, about donating several to its collection. When the curator was interested, the Colescott, Meeker and Altman went off to MOWA. The curator subsequently was in touch, enthusiastic about the uniqueness of Colescott’s “Park Sunday” and held out the possibility of putting it on display.
The Mecikalski, Villwock and Fischer prints remain on the walls of our home, a continuing reminder of the period when printmaking in Wisconsin was, as Ms. Romero said, “a singular addition to twentieth century American artistic expression.” Both Mecikalski and Villwock are in the MOWA collection.
Note: For those interested in knowing more about this artistic “blooming,”I recommend the book, “Progressive Printmakers: Wisconsin Artists and the Print Renaissance,” co-authored by Warrington Colescott. Available from Amazon, it is liberally illustrated, including prints by Colescott and Meeker.
Interesting blog. Thanks!
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