Todros Geller
American, born Ukraine, 1889-1949
Horse Radish Grinder, from Yiddish Motifs
INV-4538
Todros Geller
American, born Ukraine, 1889-19491926
Horse Radish Grinder, from Yiddish Motifs
Todros Geller American, born Ukraine, 1889-1949 →woodcutbook
Date
1926
Medium
Woodcut in black ink on Japanese wood veneer paper, laid down on ivory laid paper with letterpress in black ink
Dimensions
Image: 24.8 × 23 cm (9 13/16 × 9 1/16 in.); Wood veneer paper: 28.6 × 24.8 cm (11 5/16 × 9 13/16 in.); Sheet: 43 × 32.5 cm (16 15/16 × 12 13/16 in.)
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Location
Chicago, IL
Credit
Gift of the Artist
Geller’s Yiddish Motifs portfolio depicts scenes of Jewish identity and daily life in a series of seven woodcuts printed on Japanese wood veneer paper, an unusual paper choice, given that it was typically used for decorative purposes. Maxwell Street was a predominantly Jewish neighborhood on the city’s Near West Side, known for its large outdoor bazaar, sadly dismantled in the 1990s by development. These prints show a crowded marketplace, a vendor at work, a student in deep concentration, and a pair of street musicians. The Yiddish Motifs portfolio was a great success, with the entire edition selling out in just three weeks.
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