Miche Phinck—Mike Fink—was a semi-legendary brawler and river boatman of the late 18th and early 19th centuries who exemplified the tough and hard-drinking men who ran keelboats up and down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. William Gropper portrayed Fink in his American Folk Heroes Portfolio as a huge, tough, confident, and raw workingman. Fink’s toughness made him, in earlier days in our nation, an exemplar of an American man, though by the late 19th century he came to be seen as a boor and a bully. Interestingly, in the early 20th century Henry Shoemaker, a Pennsylvania folklorist, tried to revive Fink’s reputation, and while Shoemaker’s efforts had little success Gropper nevertheless chose Fink as one of his models of American Folk Heroes.
Medium:
Lithograph in colors. Publisher:
Covici, Friede, New York Date:
Undated, but produced in 1953. Signature:
Signed in the stone en recto lower right. Titled in the stone en recto lower left. Edition:
One of the unnumbered edition of 150. Framing:
Floated in a solid Walnut frame behind 99% UV-filtering Plexiglass with rag spacers. All conservation materials. Condition:
Very Good condition. Modest age toning and edgewear without impact to the image. Sheet Size:
17.5 in. (w) x 22.5 in. (h) Image Size:
14.5 in. (h) x 9 in. (w) Framed Size:
20.5 in. (h) x 15 in. (w) x 1.5 in. (d) Literature: Catalogue: Emiliano Sorini, William Gropper: Catalogue Raisonné of the Etchings p. 149.
Mike Fink
$600.00
William Gropper (American)
Description
Miche Phinck—Mike Fink—was a semi-legendary brawler and river boatman of the late 18th and early 19th centuries who exemplified the tough and hard-drinking men who ran keelboats up and down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. William Gropper portrayed Fink in his American Folk Heroes Portfolio as a huge, tough, confident, and raw workingman. Fink’s toughness made him, in earlier days in our nation, an exemplar of an American man, though by the late 19th century he came to be seen as a boor and a bully. Interestingly, in the early 20th century Henry Shoemaker, a Pennsylvania folklorist, tried to revive Fink’s reputation, and while Shoemaker’s efforts had little success Gropper nevertheless chose Fink as one of his models of American Folk Heroes.
This work is now quite scarce.
Additional information
Modern Print-Makers
Very Good Condition
1950-1960
Custom framed and matted using conservation materials
Lithograph
Details
Medium:
Lithograph in colors.
Publisher:
Covici, Friede, New York
Date:
Undated, but produced in 1953.
Signature:
Signed in the stone en recto lower right. Titled in the stone en recto lower left.
Edition:
One of the unnumbered edition of 150.
Framing:
Floated in a solid Walnut frame behind 99% UV-filtering Plexiglass with rag spacers. All conservation materials.
Condition:
Very Good condition. Modest age toning and edgewear without impact to the image.
Sheet Size:
17.5 in. (w) x 22.5 in. (h)
Image Size:
14.5 in. (h) x 9 in. (w)
Framed Size:
20.5 in. (h) x 15 in. (w) x 1.5 in. (d)
Literature:
Catalogue: Emiliano Sorini, William Gropper: Catalogue Raisonné of the Etchings p. 149.
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