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Peggy Bacon (1895-1987), Virtuoso, 1933, drypoint, signed and titled in pencil and inscribed: “For Pat and Dick.” Reference: Flint 121. In good condition, on cream wove paper with a deckle edge all around and so with full margins, with drying holes all around (indicating that this was printed by Bacon’s favorite master printer Peter Platt). 5 x 4, the sheet 12 5/8 x 9 3/4 inches, matted.
A fine rich impression, with much drypoint burr.
A rarely encountered print, we have not located an impression of Viruoso in the extensive collections of Bacon’s work in the Smithsonian, Library of Congress, or the Achenbach Collection in San Francisco.
The inscription “For Pat and Dick” was made after the print was titled and signed; the reference may be to the Nixons, but we tend to doubt it.
Peggy Bacon was born in Ridgefield, Connecticut. She studied at the Art Students League with John Sloan, Kenneth Hayes Miller, and George Bellows. Bacon is known to many audiences, for she created paintings and prints, wrote poetry and novels, and illustrated over 60 children’s books. Print lovers know her best for her splendid drypoint compositions, including early modernist works, and her satirical portrayals of both rural and New York life.
