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Collections

Erich Heckel
The Ballad of Reading Gaol1907

Not on view
Woodcut portrait of an older man in a flat-brimmed cap, printed in high-contrast black and white with bold gouge marks and a band of vertical lines at the bottom
Woodcut print in stark black and white depicting a reclining nude figure, rendered with bold, rough-cut marks against a solid black background. A block letter 'H' appears at lower left.
Woodcut print with bold black and white contrast; a hunched figure stands at right against a heavily textured background of scratched horizontal and diagonal white lines, with a handwritten inscription in German script below the image.
Woodcut print in black and white, a dark silhouetted figure bends forward at center-right against a heavily textured background of energetic horizontal and diagonal white gouged lines.
Woodcut portrait of a bearded man's face emerging from a solid black background, rendered in stark white gouges with jagged, expressive cuts; pencil inscriptions below the image.
Woodcut portrait of a man's face emerging from a near-solid black background, with bold white gouged lines defining a peaked cap, mustache, and goatee; handwritten inscription in German script below.
Woodcut portrait of a bearded man wearing a peaked cap, rendered in stark black and white with bold, angular gouged lines against a near-solid black background.
Woodcut print in stark black and white, close-up of a face emerging from a heavily carved background of jagged, angular forms. Bold gouged lines across the lower left suggest drapery or foliage. Monogram stamp at lower left.
Woodcut print in stark black and white depicting a skeletal figure with a skull head crouching over a smaller human form, with bold carved lines and heavy black background. Handwritten inscription in German script below the image block.
Woodcut print in stark black and white depicting a skull-faced figure with a hunched torso, rendered in bold, jagged cuts against a fragmented background. Monogrammed 'H' at lower left.
Woodcut print in stark black and white depicting a crouching nude figure in profile, surrounded by angular, gestural marks suggesting foliage or forest, with bold expressive cutting and high contrast.
Woodcut print in stark black and white, two loosely rendered figures amid dense vertical grain lines, with bold contrast between heavily inked areas and jagged white negative space.
Woodcut print with bold black and white contrast, depicting two standing figures emerging from a dark, heavily textured background with rough, expressive gouge marks.
Woodblock print in stark black and white; a crucified figure rendered in white against a dense black background with fragmented, roughly-cut rectangular marks suggesting a textured wall or crowd below.
Book cover with a woodcut title block in black on teal, featuring bold Gothic-style lettering in German and two flanking figures, mounted on plain gray cardstock with a handwritten signature below.
Woodcut print on teal paper mounted on gray card. Bold black text in German reads 'Die Ballade vom Zuchthaus zu Reading von Oskar Wilde mit Holzschnitten von E. Heckel,' flanked by two roughly carved standing figures on left and right.
Artist or Maker
Erich Heckel
Title
The Ballad of Reading Gaol
Place Made
Germany
Date Made
1907
Medium
Twelve woodcuts on handmade paper
Credit Line
The Robert Gore Rifkind Center for German Expressionist Studies
Accession Number
M.82.288.87a-l
Classification
Prints
Collecting Area
Robert Gore Rifkind Center for German Expressionist Studies
Selected Bibliography

  • Davis, Bruce. German Expressionist Prints and Drawings: The Robert Gore Rifkind Center for German Expressionist Studies. Los Angeles, CA: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1989; Munich, Germany: Prestel, 1989.

  • Dübe, Annemarie and Wolf-Dieter Dübe. Erich Heckel: das graphische Werk. New York: E. Rathenau, 1964.
  • Reed, Orrel P., German expressionist art: the Robert Gore Rifkind Collection: prints, drawings, illustrated books, periodicals, posters. Exhibition Catalogue. Los Angeles: Frederick S. Wight Art Gallery, University of California, Los Angeles, 1977.

  • Thiem, Gunther. Prints by Erich Heckel and Karl Schmidt-Rottluff: A Centenary Celebration. Los Angeles County Museum of Art: Los Angeles, 1985.