Historical Timeline
The Print Center’s first 100 years were marked by an abundance of important milestones, both for the organization and for the fields that we serve: printmaking and photography. This Timeline offers a chronological look at all the important episodes of our history, culled from our institutional Archives (housed at The Historical Society of Pennsylvania), and from the memories of the artists, members, staff and many others that have shared our history.
The Timeline, launched to celebrate our Centennial, is an ongoing effort – designed to grow and deepen over time. We make regular additions to its content – if you have a suggestion for an addition, please share it with us. And check back often as the Timeline is updated frequently!
1915 The Print Center was Founded
Originally founded as "The Print Club" by a group of Philadelphia collectors, The Print Center was established as an "association for the dissemination, study, production and collection of works by printmakers, American and foreign."1915 The Print Center’s Original Location: 219 South 17th Street, Philadelphia
The Print Center has made its home at 1614 Latimer Street since 1917, but our first location was around the corner, in a small office at 219 South 17th Street. An early history of the organization described it this way, ...1916 Leopold Stokowski Letter
Leopold Anthony Stokowski (1882 – 1977), the renowned conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra, was an early patron of The Print Center. In this letter from 1916, he apologies to Judge Jasper Brinton, one of the founders of the organization, for ...1918 A Permanent Home
Since 1918, The Print Center has been located at 1614 Latimer Street, in an old carriage house in Philadelphia's historic Rittenhouse Square neighborhood. The organization purchased the building in 1927 and has made many renovations over the years, including enclosing a ...1924 Annual International Competition
The Print Center’s Annual International Competition is one of the oldest competitions of its kind. The first Annual Exhibition of American Etchers was held in 1924 and subsequent competitions in the early years focused on other print processes, including block printing and lithography. ...1925 Mrs. Andrew Wright Crawford: Our First Director
In 1925, Mrs. Crawford was appointed the first Director. Earlier, the organization had been led by the efforts of Mrs. Laurence Eyre, the first President, Executive Secretary Mrs. Elizabeth Forbes Dallam, and her assistant, Miss Flora Lash.
1927 Brooklyn Museum of Art, Exhibition Exchange
The Print Center has organized dozens of traveling exhibitions that have visited organizations throughout both the region and the world. In our early history, we had a particularly close relationship with the Brooklyn Museum of Art. At least a dozen ...1929 A History of The Philadelphia Print Club
In 1929 we published A History of The Philadelphia Print Club. The book is authored by Dorothy Grafly, who had a long career as an art journalist, including as a columnist for The Philadephia Inquirer. Engraved and printed by The Beck Engraving ...1933 First Photography Exhibit
In its early years, The Print Center exhibited artworks in a wide variety of media. The earliest photography exhibit was offered in 1933, entitled Colored Photographic Reproduction. In 1958, the second show dedicated to photography was mounted: John Reed, Photographs.1940 WPA’s Philadelphia Fine Print Workshop
During the New Deal era, the Works Progress Administration’s Federal Art Project (WPA/FAP) engaged over 10,000 artists in communities across the US. In Philadelphia, a Fine Print Workshop was established in the same building where a WPA/FAP Poster Workshop was ...1941 Carl Zigrosser, Print Curator
In 1941 Carl Zigrosser was appointed as the first Curator of Prints, Drawings and Rare Books at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, a position he held until 1963. Under Zigrosser's direction, the collection grew dramatically and came to include a ...1942 WWII Copper Plate Drive
The Print Center participated in many activities in support of the war effort and our troops. This included a drive to collect copper etching and engraving plates to be melted down. An article from that time noted that the “donations ...1944 Berthe von Moschzisker: Our Second Director
In 1944, Berthe von Moschzisker, daughter of one of The Print Center's founding members, was appointed the second Director of The Print Center, a position she held for the next 25 years. Her tenure was notable for many reasons, including her embrace ...1945 Stanley William Hayter and the Artist’s Workshop
In 1945 The Print Center sent out a letter announcing a new initiative: The Artist’s Workshop. “This is not to be class or school,” the letter reads, “but to be for artists who are interested in technical research in graphic ...1947 Tea at The Print Center
The Print Center was founded as a club, much like its sister organizations The Philadelphia Sketch Club and The Plastic Club. In addition to offering exhibitions, the organization served a social function and was well-known for its afternoon teas, served ...1948 Lessing J. Rosenwald, Print Collector
Lessing J. Rosenwald (1891 – 1979), the celebrated collector, had a life-long passion for prints and drawings from the Middle Ages to the 20th Century. Over time, he gave over 20,000 prints and drawings to the National Gallery of Art, ...1948 Ford Foundation Funds Building Expansion
The Ford Foundation provided support for a building expansion which enclosed most of the original garden, expanded the facility on the first floor and provided an second exhibition gallery on the second floor.1959 The First Print Center Publication: Leonard Baskin illustrates Blake’s Auguries of Innocence
Auguries of Innocence, 1959
Text by William Blake, Illustrated by Leonard Baskin
Hardcover, 9 1/2" x 6", 20 pages
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In 1959, we commissioned Leonard Baskin to illustrate a version of William Blake's Auguries of Innocence, published in an edition of 250. It was printed ...1960 Prints in Progress
In 1960 Prints in Progress, a program to bring together practicing artists and children through printmaking, was launched by Board member Walther "Billy" Wolf. Prints in Progress was always taught by artists, and began with a portable press that visited area ...1966 The Print Center Edition: Romas Viesulas
Romas Viesulas, Since Then, 1966, Lithograph, 22.5 x 31.75 inches, Edition of 40
1967 The Print Center Edition: George Bunker
George Bunker, Seasonal, 1967, Color lithograph, 30 x 22 inches, Edition of 40
1967 The Print Center Edition: Benton Spruance
Benton Spruance (1904 – 1967) was a very significant member of The Print Center’s community. His prints have been included in over 75 exhibitions at The Print Center, including five solo shows. Spruance, who was born in Philadelphia, was a ...1969 Robert Grigor-Taylor: Our Third Director
Grigor-Taylor was the Director from 1969-1973. Grigor-Taylor introduced artists from California and England who were unknown on the east coast. In 1971 he presented a solo exhibition of R. B. Kitaj's complete graphic work (The Print Center purchased Photo-Eye, color ...1970 The Print Center Edition: Pravoslav Sovák
Pravoslav Sovák, Sovák Graphics Retrospective, 1970, Intaglio, 13.75 x 18 inches, Edition of 70
1970 The Print Center Edition: Samuel Maitin
Sam Maitin (1928 – 2004) is one of the artists most closely associated with The Print Center. He was a celebrated printmaker whose work was included in at least 45 shows during his lifetime. Maitin took part in Stanley William ...1970 The Print Center Embraced Photography
The 1960s and 1970s was a time of transition in American art. Artists clamored for change, crossing boundaries previously drawn between art and popular culture. Photography played an active role in this period as artists who were not photographers, used ...1971 The Print Center Edition: Daniel Dallman
Daniel Dallman, Anthracite Winter, 1971, Lithograph, 30 x 22 inches, Edition of 40
1972 Ansel Adams Retrospective – First Major Photography Exhibition
Ansel Adams (1902 - 1984), the great master of landscape photography, exhibited at The Print Center in 1972. Planned to coincide with the artist’s seventieth birthday, Adams’ exhibition included 120 photographs and was the largest retrospective of his work to ...1972 Brandywine Workshop, Lois Johnson
The Brandywine Workshop was founded in 1972 by Philadelphia artist Allan Edmunds, in a space that was originally a Prints in Progress workshop. Since that time, the Brandywine Workshop has become an internationally recognized center for printmaking, in particular for ...1973 The Print Center Publication: Jerome Kaplan Prints
Retrospective exhibition of prints by Philadelphia artist Jerome Kaplan with accompanying catalog. [note]George Bunker and Ruth Fine, Jerome Kaplan Prints (Philadelphia: The Print Club, 1973)[/note] Jerome Kaplan Prints, 1973 Texts by George Bunker and Ruth Fine Softcover, 10″ x 7″, 32 pages See Timeline entry for 1994 ...1973 The Print Center Edition: Joe Goode
Joe Goode, Untitled, 1973, Screenprint, 13 x 17 inches, Edition of 75
1973 Margo Devereux (later Dolan): Our Fourth Director
Dolan was the Director from 1973 - 1978. In addition to mounting an impressive exhibition schedule, she focused efforts on strengthening membership, particularly by encouraging non-artists to join and by cultivating interactions between artists and collectors. Exhibitions were as frequent ...1974 The Print Center Edition: Michael Miller
Michael Miller, Ski Feeder, 1974, Color lithograph, 18 x 20 inches, Edition of 40
1975 Phil Simkin, Move It or Lose It
In 1975, as part of The Print Center’s 60th Anniversary, the Philadelphia artist Phil Simkin (1944 -2013) created a performative spectacle that generated so much attention and controversy that people are still talking about it. For Move It or Lose ...1976 The Founding of The Photo Review
The Photo Review, a quarterly journal, was founded in 1976 in Philadelphia by the writer and photographer Stephen Perloff. The beginnings of The Photo Review coincided with a cultural moment where interest in photography swelled as a critically important medium ...1977 The Fabric Workshop & Museum, Will Stokes Jr.
The Fabric Workshop & Museum (FWM) was founded in 1977 by Marion “Kippy” Stroud (1939 - 2015) after she had spent many years as a Board member of The Print Center and the Artistic Director of Prints in Progress. While ...1978 Associated American Artists
Since its founding, The Print Center has actively sold the work of exhibiting artists, considering the sale of work an important way to support artists and build collectors, as well as providing a source of revenue for the organization. In ...1978 Ofelia Garcia: Our Fifth Director
Ofelia Garcia was the Executive Director from 1978 to 1984. In 1978, The Print Center's sixty year long practice of selling prints while having nonprofit status was scrutinized by the federal government. The Board of Governors decided to separate The ...1981 The Print Center Edition: 65th Anniversary marked with The Philadelphia Portfolio
Published in partnership with the City of Philadelphia, The Philadelphia Portfolio was created in 1981 to commemorate the 65th Anniversary of the organization. An edition of 100, it includes works by Edna Andrade, John Dowell, Elizabeth Osborne and Peter Paone. The ...1986 Jane Landis, Acting Director
Jane Landis began working at The Print Center in May of 1984 as Assistant to the Director. In January of 1986, she became Acting Director when Ofelia Garcia departed for the Atlanta College of Art. She remained Acting Director until ...1987 Anne Schuster Hunter: Our Sixth Director
Anne Schuster Hunter directed The Print Center from 1987 to 1989. During her tenure she focused on returning The Print Center to its historical position as an organization encouraging printmaking and photography in all forms as exciting, adventurous, contemporary media. She and ...1988 The Print Center Residency Editions
The Print Center Residency Series, co-directed by Anne Schuster Hunter and Hester Stinnett, operated between 1988 and 1991. Artists Robert Cumming, Lois Lane, Winifred Lutz and Art Spiegelman were invited to work with lithographic master printer Timothy Sheesley and Japanese ...1989 25 x 25, A Portfolio Project
25 x 25 was a series of printed portfolios published by The Print Center between 1989 and 1998. Any artist could submit a printed edition of 50 prints (each 25 x 25 centimeters) which were then collated by the participating ...1989 Kathleen Edwards: Our Seventh Director
Kathleen Edwards served as the Executive Director from 1989 until 1998. She set out to make the organization as well-known within the city as it was nationally and internationally. She recognized a national trend toward collaborative printmaking and a second wave ...1990 Robert Cornelius: Abandoned Shoes of Philadelphia
In 1990, The Print Center organized an exhibition of works by the Philadelphia photographer Robert Cornelius entitled Abandoned Shoes of Philadelphia. Professor Cornelius is one of the founders of Pittsburgh’s Silver Eye Center for Photography and has taught photography at several ...1991 Gallery Store Opened
Initiated by Anne Schuster Hunter with funding from the Pew Charitable Trusts to transform the first floor back room into a retail area, in 1991 Kathleen Edwards opened The Print Center Gallery Store as a sales venue for prints, photographs and ...1992 Crossing Over/Changing Places
Crossing Over/Changing Places was a seven year project of commissions and exhibitions of prints produced by the Lower East Side Print Shop, Pyramid Atlantic, Rutgers Center for Innovative Print and Paper (now known as the Brodsky Center), C. R. Ettinger Studio and The ...1994 The Print Center Publication: Jerome Kaplan Graphic Works, 1974 – 1994
Jerome Kaplan Graphic Works, 1974 - 1994, 1994 Texts by James A. Ganz and Rachel Kaplan Softcover, 10" x 7", 18 pages and Jerome Kaplan Prints, 1973 Texts by George Bunker and Ruth Fine Softcover, 10" x 7", 32 pages [hr] In 1994, The Print Center organized its second retrospective ...1995 The Print Center Edition: Ieva Iltnere
Ieva Iltnere, Table, 1995, Etching, 9 x 12 inches, Edition of 20Ieva Iltnere, Six Girls, 1995, Etching, 9 x 12 inches, Edition of 8Ieva Iltnere, Evening No. 9, 1995, Etching, 9 x 11 inches, Edition of 10
1996 A New Name
From 1915 until 1996 The Print Center was known as The Print Club, and was one of many media specific, member-based clubs in Philadelphia, such as The Plastic Club, The Sketch Club and The Pen and Pencil Club. In 1996, ...1998 Christine Filippone: Our Eighth Director
Christine Filippone led The Print Center from 1998 until 2003 during a new cultural era; one in which fundraising and marketing became essential for the well being of a nonprofit. Until Filippone's arrival, The Print Center was run by a full-time ...2000 Curator Position Established
Jacqueline van Rhyn was appointed as the organization's first curator, with the support of The William Penn Foundation.
2002 IMPRINT: a public art project
In 2002, The Print Center organized IMPRINT: a public art project, for which a series of temporary public art projects were commissioned from Dotty Attie, John Coplans, Susan Fenton, Kerry James Marshall, Virgil Marti and James Mills. The project included ...2002 Artists-in-Schools Program
As early as the 1940s, student education has been an important part of The Print Center’s activities. Since 2002, The Print Center's award-winning Artists-in-Schools Program (AISP) has provided complete and self-contained, year-long artist residencies and classroom instruction to Philadelphia public ...2003 The Print Center Edition: Paul Cary Goldberg
Paul Cary Goldberg, Two Lemons (Homage to Napoletano), 2003, Iris Print, 8 x 10 inches, Edition of 50
2004 Michal Smith: Our Ninth Director
Michal Smith served as Executive Director from 2004 - 2006.2004 The Print Center Edition: Jill Bonovitz
Jill Bonovitz, Raveling, 2004, Etching, 11 x 14 inches, Edition of 50
2005 The Print Center Edition: D.W. Mellor
D.W. Mellor, Gift of Shells, 2005, Archival Pigment Print, 8 x 10 inches, Edition of 41
2005 The Print Center Edition: Elizabeth Osborne
Elizbeth Osborne, Morning Sea, 2005, Archival pigment print, etching with Chine Collé, 11 x 10 inches, Edition of 12
2005 The Print Center Edition: Charles Burwell
Charles Burwell, Pink Ground & 2 Figures, 2005, Archival Pigment Print, 10 x 10 inches, Edition of 50
2006 Taken with Time: a camera obscura project
For the exhibition Taken with Time: a camera obscura project, 2006, Ann Hamilton, Vera Lutter and Abelardo Morell were invited to Philadelphia to create new works using camera obscuras. (The camera obscura is a photographic device that captures an optical ...2006 Elizabeth Spungen: Our Tenth Director
Appointed in 2006, Elizabeth (Liz) Spungen's tenure at The Print Center has been marked by programmatic and administrative accomplishments. She has developed numerous major individual and institutional gifts, among them the largest gift ever received by The Print Center naming ...2006 The Print Center Edition: Enid Mark
Enid Mark, Progression V: Iris, 2006, Polymer plate intaglio, 16 x 11.5 inches, Edition of 50
2007 The Print Center Edition: Sarah Van Keuren
Sarah Van Keuren, Coded Leaf, 2007, Gum bichromate and cyanotype, 8 x 6 inches, Edition of 54
2009 The Print Center Edition: Sarah McEneaney
Sarah McEneaney, West Texas Night, 2009, Screenprint, 13 x 10 inches, Edition of 30
2010 Philagrafika 2010
Philagrafika 2010 was an international festival celebrating print in contemporary art which included the work of over 300 artists at more than 80 venues in Philadelphia. The Graphic Unconscious was the core exhibition of the festival and was held at ...2010 The Print Center Edition: John Joyce
John Joyce, Untitled, 2010, Platinum/Palladium, 2.2 x 2.2 inches, Edition of 11
2010 The Print Center Edition: Bill Walton
Bill Walton, Broken Wing, 2010, Etching, 1.5 x 1 inches, Edition of 50
2011 The Print Center Edition: William Earle Williams
William Earle Williams, Untitled, 1988/2011, Gelatin Silver Print, 10 x 8 inches, Edition of 25
2012 The Print Center Edition: Emma Wilcox
Emma Wilcox, Call Before You Dig, 2012, Letterpress, 8 x 10 inches, Edition of 25
2012 Color Motion: Edna Andrade Prints
The exhibition and publication were made possible by special project support from the Estate of Edna Wright Andrade.
Exhibition
September 14 - November 17, 2012
Noted Philadelphia artist Edna Andrade (1917-2008) is best known for her hard-edged Op Art abstractions. This retrospective exhibition ...2013 The Print Center Edition: Lydia Panas
Lydia Panas, Ashley, 2013, Archival Pigment Print, 8 x 8 inches, Edition of 25
2014 Demetrius Oliver: Canicular
The project was funded by the Pew Center for Arts & Heritage. Publication of Demetrius Oliver: Canicular was supported by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Exhibition
Canicular was an innovative exhibition of newly commissioned works by ...2014 The Print Center Edition: Matt Neff
Matt Neff, Untitled, 2014, Archival pigment print facemounted to Plexiglas, 9 x 12 inches, Edition of 20
2014 The Print Center Publication: Will Brown & Thomas Devaney, The Picture that Remains
The Picture that Remains, 2014
Photographs by Will Brown and Poems by Thomas Devaney with an introduction by Vincent Katz
Hardcover, 8 1/2" x 11", 64 pages, 38 quadtone images
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The Picture that Remains reveals the power of collaboration. Together photographer Will Brown and ...