Krishna Reddy and a Beer

Do you know Krishna Reddy? An Indian sculptor and printmaker probably best known for this sculpture. I've always found his prints compelling. Tactile. Deep. Like this one:

And this one:

And this one, too:

So imagine my surprise, while I was enjoying a Racer 5 IPA with lunch, to discover a Krishna Reddy work in my glass:

Uncanny.

Houze Glass at Christmas

One of my more easily satisfied collecting interests is Christmas-themed Houze Glass. This is our small collection of them. The Pennsylvania company opened in the 19th Century, and continued on until well into the 20th. They may have done many things, but what I know them for are these mid-century small trinket trays/plates. They did them commercially as advertising tchotchkes for small businesses (e.g., a gold-printed portrait of the Kankakee Federal Bank home office), and made them for special-events - you might receive a "Happy Birthday!" tray in lieu of a card. They also decorated them for Christmas. I love the austere fonts (see "Merry Christmas" and "Noel" on the trees to the lower left of the picture), and the cartoon styling some of them have (check out the birds, lower right, from 1959, and the reindeer, top left). Graphic design that's perfectly period. Pretty common on eBay and Etsy. Always fun to discover one you haven't seen before, or to pick one up for a pittance. No need for collecting desperation, though, they made plenty of them.

John Levee Lithograph

John Levee lithograph. Circa 1955-60. 26" x 20" inches. Signed artist's proof ("epreuve d'artiste"). Edition size unknown, but other Levee prints from the era seem to be in the 20-50 range (his "A Preface and Four Seasons" portfolio from 1959 was issued in an edition of 150, plus an hors commerce aside of 20).

Very good condition. Some minor toning at the edges, and the paper is rough at the edges, presumably as issued.

Levee, an American who has long lived as an expat in France. is one of my favorite abstract expressionist / lyrical abstraction artists of the late Fifties. This is a great, chaotic, dramatic print.