Ryan Mulloy
In the beginning of 2001, the Philadelphia Museum of Art began celebrating its 125th anniversary. A major part of the celebration is a series of exhibitions that celebrates Philadelphia artists. One exhibition that stands out is Dox Thrash: An African American Master Printmaker Rediscovered, which will be on display in the Museum’s Berman and Stieglitz Galleries from Oct. 27, 2001 to Feb. 24, 2002.
With around 100 prints, drawings, and watercolors by Dox Thrash, the exhibit will recognize Thrash’s rise to national prominence during the late 1940s. The exhibition will showcase Thrash’s development from his early days as a student of the arts to his later years as an innovative printmaker.
Dox Thrash, born March 22, 1893, was born and raised in Griffen, Ga. Born into a family of four children, Thrash, the second child, quit his schooling after completing the fourth grade. After leaving, though, he continued to nurture his love of drawing in taking arts courses.
By the age of 15, Thrash left home and began traveling the world. One of his most important stops was Chicago, where he would enroll for evening classes at the Art Institute of Chicago. World War I interrupted his work there. Thrash enlisted and served for 17 months as a private in the 365th Infantry Regiment, 183rd Brigade, 92nd Division, an all-black unit that would become known as the Buffalo Soldiers.
Upon his return to the United States, Thrash re-enrolled in evening school at the Art Museum, then traveled to Boston, Connecticut, and New York City, before settling in Philadelphia. It was in Philadelphia that Thrash used carborundum, as abrasive used to refurbish lithograph stones, to roughen the surface of copper plates to make etchings. Thrash’s carborundum prints were first publicly shown at the Philadelphia Art Museum on Jan. 23, 1938.
In the early 1940s, the Philadelphia Museum of Art acquired 75 prints produced by Thrash. Today, 50 of those works can be viewed in Philadelphia, including his famous works, Cabin Days, Siesta and Defense Worker.
The exhibition at the Philadelphia Art Museum is the first occasion that Thrash’s career will be the subject of an in-depth study. It is also the first time his work as a printmaker will be fully examined.
In remembrance of a pioneer of Philadelphia printmaking, over 50 art organizations of Philadelphia are coming together to present Celebrating Prints and Printmaking: In Homage to Dox Thrash. This presentation will be held from Nov. 2 to Dec. 14, 2001.
