The first group of prints were by Charles Fairman. They were
acquired by the Smithsonian in 1921 apparently from the artist who
was living on U Street in DC. Neither I nor the museum specialist
who was showing me the prints knew the name. Does anyone on the
list have any information about Fairman?
Two contemporary artists were also represented: Robert Stark (born
1939) and Betty Hahn (born 1940). Stark's print had the notation
"acrylic polymer with aluminum bichromate". The works by Hahn were
all on fabric. Does anyone know what these artists are doing now?
It was a real treat to see some gums first hand. In addition to the
the work mentioned above, there were several Kasebiers, The Brass
Bowl by Steichen, and Toilette by Heinrich Kuehn which had been
given to the museum in 1913 by Stieglitz.
Suzanne Izzo s_izzo@guvax.georgetown.edu