The Old Print Shop

Warrington Colescott

1921-2018

Warrington Colescott was an American satirical artist born in Oakland, California. Although he worked in a number of different mediums, he had a particular love for etching. Quick of whit, Colescott reflected on matters of all sorts in his work, including civil rights, politics, history and the lack of improper care for American veterans. 

Like so many from his era, Colescott was drafted into World War II. After returning, he finished his master’s degree and took up teaching, all the while continuing to work on his art. In 1957 he won the Fulbright Fellowship, which allowed him to study at the Slade School of Art in London for a year. This was a major event in Colescott's life as it led to his passion for etching while under the tutelage of Anthony Gross.

Over the course of his life, Colescott also won the Guggenheim Fellowship (1965) and three fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts under the artists and printmaking categories.

In an exhibition at Milwaukee Art Museum in 1996, Colescott described his favored process. “Etching quickens the blood, lights up the eye, affects the satirical mind in the same way that a low-cut neckline affects Dracula."

 

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