Mold for a lithograph by Beckford Young

This original mold, created by Beckford Young for one of his lithograph series, is exceptional. This piece contains a network of reliefs, hollows, and edges, each detailing the result of a deliberate intervention.

This mold is the foundation and precursor of the finished lithograph, offering a unique insight into the artist's creative process and his symbiosis with the living world. The textures and compositions are meticulously crafted to evoke an intimate dialogue with nature.

The central theme of this piece lies in transformation. The choice of colors is not only aesthetic, especially the shades of green and yellow that evoke stagnant water. These colors suggest an organic process of constant metamorphosis. This evolution reflects the infinite cycle of life and death, growth and decay, in the natural world.

Mayo Beckford Young, painter, mural painter, and printmaker, was born in Petaluma, California, on October 23, 1905. He attended the University of California, Berkeley, on a sports scholarship and majored in art. He continued his art studies in Munich with Hans Hoffman.
After returning from an extended European stay, he became associated with American abstract artists. However, he considered himself an experimental rather than an abstract artist.

During the Depression Young painted murals of the Federal Art Project. He became supervisor of the Oakland area of the project and later art director for Northern California.
He was a San Francisco Art Association member and the American Abstract Artists.
He exhibited at the Golden Gate International Exposition, the San Francisco Museum Association, the New Jersey State Museum, and the National Museum of American Art. (see Biography for more information)

Beckford Young died in El Cerrito, California, on September 17, 1979.

REFERENCE NUMBER: LU654314742512
PERIOD: Mid-20th Century
CONDITION: Excellent
MEASUREMENTS: Height: 21.95" Width: 29.5" Depth: 1"
COUNT: 1
MATERIAL: Mixed Media
CREATOR: Beckford Young