Gallery Hours:
 Thursday and Friday 10-6
 "First Friday" 10-8
 Saturday 10-5
 "Second Sunday" 12-4

Other Hours Available
by Appointment

Presenting

Isadore Gallery was named after Uncle Izzy, who bought prints in the 1960’s like some people buy stocks. He was investing in the future fame of the artists. Many of the artists are now gone, a few are still alive; some have work hanging in the finest art museums, others achieved local or national recognition. But their art remains, and these works are interesting commentaries on a time when the printmaking genre was a real technical skill and not a computer-generated file.

An original print should not be confused with a reproduction or a limited edition reproduction print such as a giclee. In true printmaking, the artist carves a block, etches a plate, greases a stone or makes a silkscreen stencil, and the process chosen is an intrinsic part of the creation. He then hand-inks the printing surface. Several plates and printings are often required for different colors. The number of prints will be limited and signed and the blocks or plates destroyed after completing the series.

Izzy acquired many of these prints as a member of a print club founded in 1953 to support the activities of avant-garde printmakers. Unlike other print publishers, The International Graphic Arts Society used world-renowned curators and artists such as William Lieberman and Ben Shahn to choose the best examples for publication. There was an exhibition of IGAS prints at the New York Public Library on 42nd Street and at Syracuse University last year, but Lancaster residents visiting Isadore Gallery can see them any time.

Isadore left this art legacy to his family without a lot of documentation. Researching the prints has been like a treasure hunt. These are a few of the interesting finds: lithographs by Ossip Zadkine who has a museum with his name in Paris; several works by Karel Appel who formed the experimental Cobra group of artists in Europe; Burning Bush by William Majors, associated with the Spiral Group of African-American artists in the 1960’s; works by Leonard Baskin, considered a preeminent figure of 20th century American Art; antique art-deco mini-posters; and Japanese woodblock prints from both the 19th and 20th centuries.

Art collectors will be sure to find something that interests them. Everyone will be able to appreciate the diversity of this collection of influential artists. Each piece comes with its own story.