This is a colored woodcut titled “Anemones,” (ca. 1920, 9-3/4″ x 6-7/8″) by New England print maker and painter Margaret Jordan Patterson (1867-1950).
Margaret Jordan Patterson
The 1-1/8″ wide frame is cherry with a deep red-brown stain matching the blossoms’ clustered anthers. It has a carved slip painted in the print’s darkest blue. The design is in one way typical of what I like to do with block prints—carving a flat frame in the same fashion as the carved woodblock used to make the print. I call these “printable” frames. My craftsman’s understanding of the nature of the frame has led me to emphasize the frame’s joinery, its corners, as points of power and significance. But centers of the frame’s members also have their power and significance in relation to the composition of the picture the frame serves. In this case, Patterson’s frankly centered arrangement strongly suggested the centers of the frame’s sides are where I should place a decorative accent, mimicking Patterson’s anemones with a floral touch.
Framed for California Historical Design.
See other Margaret Patterson block prints we’ve framed…
—Tim Holton
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