Here we have a rare piece of Hollywood art history. It's an authentic Lionel Barrymore woodcut entitled Point Mugu. It is pencil signed (not in the block) in the lower right. He didn't write the title but you can find reproductions of this woodcut with the title in the block. I've searched high and low for another pencil signed woodcut of Point Mugu for sale and haven't come up with anything yet.
There are a ton of reproduction Barrymore prints out there. They are a dime a dozen. Brown and Bigelow produced a good number of them. They may look like a woodcut but upon inspection you'll see they are a lithograph of a woodcut. One of my pics compares the framed woodcut to one of the prevalent reproductions of his work.
The framed artwork measures 21.5" x 18". The exposed woodcut measures 13" x 9.5". The woodcut was professionally framed by Hang It Inc. in Minneapolis. Please see all pics as they are part of the description.
Here is a short bio of the artist:
Lionel Herbert Blythe was born in Philadelphia, Pa., on April 28, 1878. His parents were Maurice Barrymore (born Maurice Blythe) and Georgiana Drew. His sister was the famous actress Ethel Barrymore, and his brother was the actor John Barrymore.
As a young man, Lionel Barrymore studied art in Paris, but this came to an end in 1905 when he returned to the United States to "go into the family business" of acting. He began his stellar career upon the New York stage, and his first role on Broadway came in 1907. His first film role came in 1908 with the silent movie "The Paris Hat."
In 1931, he won a Best Actor Academy Award for his role in "A Free Soul," but today's audiences might know Barrymore best for his roles in "It's a Wonderful Life" and "Key Largo" (with Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart). He is also remembered as the quintessential "Scrooge" in radio presentations of Dickens' "A Christmas Carol."
It is said that Lionel Barrymore acted for the money and was not really happy in this profession. On many occasions, he could be found drawing and doing etchings between scenes on movie sets, and in 1935 the Society of American Sketchers named one of his pieces one of the best prints of that year.
I ship to the continental USA only. Free shipping on this rare artwork.
Don't miss out on this rare authentic Lionel Barrymore print. It's also done by Drew's grandpa...
