Charles Edward Blackwood (1916

Charles Edward Blackwood (1916 - 1995)

Stone Lithograph print - "San Marine Yacht Basin"
Image Size: Approximately 14" x 10.5"

Charles Edward Blackwood is still being remembered every year at Furman University's School of Art. They provide an art scholarship in his honor. Blackwood was on the forefront of the visual arts in Greenville, SC. He served as the head of Furman's Fine Art Department and a founder of Greenville's Art Association. It has been difficult to find detailed information on Blackwood, but I have been able to gather enough to give you a broad scope of his life (provided below).

Blackwood was a skilled stone lithographer. For this blog I have provided two illustrations of his work: San Marine Yacht Basin and Still Life with Chair (below). Blackwood's stone lithography is based on natural antipathy of oil and water. His images were made on a stone with a greasy crayon. The texture of the stone was such that, if moistened, the water adhered to it in an even film except where the grease has been applied. When a roller charged with heavy ink was applied to the moistened surface, the ink adhered only to the greasy areas. After printing only the greasy image remains on the stone and the process of moistening, inking, and printing may be repeated. His drawing skills are illustrated by his stone prints.

Stone Lithograph - "Still Life" with Chair

Below are the broad details of Professor Blackwood's life:

1916 - Born: Blue Mountain, Tippah, Mississippi

Received his BFA from the University of Oklahoma (his schooling was interrupted by WWII - where he served in Europe and the Pacific)
1948 Founded the Fine Arts Department at Furman University
1954/56 Attended Graduate School at the University of Georgia
Served as the Head of Furman’s Fine Art Department until 1959
Helped start the Greenville Art Museum
1959 - 1979 Director of Graphic Arts, Rutgers University, NJ
1983 Retired and Moved back to Greenville, SC
Served a Founder and an early President of the Greenville Art Association
June/July 1994 Major exhibit of his work at the Greenville County Museum of Art

1995 - Death: Age 79, Greenville, South Carolina

Furman University has an endowed scholarship in his name

Example of Blackwood's Signature

Sources: Greenville News and Ancestry.com

Would love to know more.

Comments

Japanese Wooden Dolls: Kokeshi-Ningyo "こけし－人形"

This article is dedicated to my Japanese (nihongo) Sensei, Atsuko Kuwana, who helped me learn to speak Japanese. Collectors come in all varieties, some plan their collections, others start by chance. I saw my first kokeshi（こけし） wooden doll in 2005 while participating in a grassroutes exchange program between the U.S. and Japan. I was staying with a family near Nagoya and the couple’s young daughter had one. Years later when I was named a Mike Mansfield Fellow from the U.S. government to the Japanese government, and was living in Japan, I would see them frequently at flea markets and souvenir shops next to the natural hot spring resorts in the area known as Tohoku. Before leaving for Japan, I studied all things Japanese at the George Shultz Foreign Service Institute (FSI), including a professor that covered domestic and family life and some short statements on kokeshi. After arriving in Japan, the National Personnel Authority ( jinjiin ) was responsible for...

MARCEL (Marcella Anderson) Torpedo Factory Artist

Marcella Anderson and/or Marcy Anderson (1946 - 2015) was better known as "MARCEL", a popular serigraph/silkscreen artist, at the Torpedo Factory Art Center in historic Old Town Alexandria, VA. She maintained a gallery and work space at the Torpedo Factory from 1976 to 2015. At the top of the stairs on the 3rd floor was this large light filled studio with a charming blonde woman surrounded by her silkscreens. In the early 80s, her work consisted mostly of water reptiles, fish, birds and environmental scenes. She kept with nature themes during most of her time at the studio. Her obituary stated: "Marcel was known for her bold, yet sensitive, use of color and design. Her images in all media reflected her love of nature. Her glowing color, both intense and delicate, was achieved through the use of transparent layers of color." Marcel was born and raised in Seattle, Washington and studied at the Cornish School of Allied Arts. Before arriving in the DC area, she had ...

Walter von Gunten - Scherenschnitter Artist

In the 1990's R. A. Baumgart, wrote an article for the Journal (Wisconsin Newspaper) entitled: Scissors Art: the Lace That Takes a Million Snips. The subtitle was: For Sheer Intricacy, It's Hard to Top the Delicate Folk Art of Long Ago Europe. Baumgart's knowledge was helpful in creating this blog. Scissor cutting art has been practiced in much of Europe for centuries, but the work has now faded. It reached its peak about 200 years ago. It was the people's art, and when done by the Germans and Swiss it is called scherenschnitte. When accomplished by the these two groups, the work tends to be more delicate and more detailed in design. Scherenschnitte was cut from single sheets of paper and pasted on a contrasting paper background. Common subjects were fantasies of trees, elves or rural scenes. "Bird in the Bushes" Cut Black and Gold Paper on White Mat Board Framed: Approx. 20 X 16.5 Inches Signed Lower Left:...

Waller-Yoblonsky Fine Art

Search This Blog