HERMES, Gertrude (1901-1983). ~ Lovers.
Original erotic copper engraving, signed and dated in pencil. 75 x 50 cms. In a book mount.
The engraving was made for the special edition, limited to 25 copies, of the Garden of Caresses published by the Golden Cockerel Press. This limited edition had 6 additional erotic plates for subscribers, unusually this one is signed so was probably a proof.
Gertrude Hermes (1901-1983) was a highly acclaimed and radical print-maker, wood engraver and sculptor. She worked with her then husband Blair Hughes-Stanton as an in house illustrator for the Gregynog Press in Wales and then went back to London when her marriage ended. Some of her work for the press was effectively censored by the owners as being too erotic. She exhibited regularly at the Royal Academy from 1934, when this engraving was done, and showed at the 1937 Paris World Fair and the Venice International Exhibition in 1939. She taught at Central School of Art and the Royal Academy and her work has influenced many print-makers and engravers today.