SAINT JOSEPHS POLISH CHURCH IN CAMDEN NEW JERSEY Printmaking By Jerry Di Falco

Year:

Medium:

Etching Print

Size - (USA):

12 W x 15 H x 1 D (inches)

Size - (metric):

30.5 W x 38.1 H x 2.5 D (centimeters)

Theme:

Architecture

Edition:

40

Artwork ID:

448481

PDF Copy:

Artwork Info Sheet (PDF)

Artwork Description:

This etching was hand printed and published by the artist at The Center for Works on Paper in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Please note that this etching is shipped to the collector without a frame or mat. This keeps the price low and allows the collector personal choice in mat selection and framing. A sturdy cardboard box is employed for shipping the work. The etching is first wrapped in two layers of acid free glassine and then placed between two archival boards. This is next placed into the shipping carton and securely packed with bubble wrap. The Absolute Arts Dot Com price includes all handling costs, shipment supplies, and the cost of the shipment box. Mailing costs are added to the price. This historic etching, from my CITY OF WALT WHITMAN series, is executed in red ink, Charbonnel brand and oil based, on RivesBFK white paper to symbolize the colors of the Polish flag. My etching was inspired by an 1892 family photograph, which documented the founding of Saint Josephs Church in Camden, New Jersey. Several of my family members were responsible for building this spiritual and ethnic center for Polish immigrants. The institution helped newly arrived Poles get home mortgages, life insurance, banking accounts, learn English, and find employment. It also established a free grammar school for the children of this community, many of who only spoke Polish or German. My maternal grate grandfather, Adalbert Mazur, was instrumental in this enterprise and served as the Board Treasurer. The church is still active in the community in Camden, which is one of the poorest cities in the United States. Sunday masses are still said in both Polish and English, and the blessing of Easter Baskets for the poor still occurs every spring. One can see from my etching both the lack of large trees in the neighborhood and the appearance of telephone poles and wires. I used the etching techniques of aquatint and intaglio for this work. Size of the zinc plate I etched is 10 inches high by 8 inches wide. The print size is twelve inches wide by fifteen inches high, or 28 cm x 38 cm.

Artwork Keywords:   Original Printmaking

Materials:   Etching Prints