Established in 1894 through the efforts of Jerseyville's Young Lady's Shakespeare Club, the Jerseyville Public library currently serves the needs of over 8,000 residents throughout several neighboring counties in rural Illinois. In 1902, Jerseyville became one of the many small towns across America that received grants from Andrew Carnegie to build public libraries to expand access to knowledge and information. Between 1898-1919, 1,689 Carnegie libraries were built across the country, with the majority of grants going to the Rust Belt region. In 1987 the Jerseyville Public library built an addition to double the small footprint of the library and better serve their patrons. Over 30 years later, the library is embarking on a much-needed Expansion project to meet the needs of their community. This Picasso print was gifted to the library in the 1990s and hung in the library for decades for their patrons to enjoy. To fund this much needed project, the library has opted to deaccession this print in order to further the library’s time-honored institution and to ensure that the Jerseyville Public Library has the resources it needs to continue to serve their community for decades to come.
One of the most dominant and influential artists of the 20th century, Pablo Picasso was a master of endless reinvention. While significantly contributing to the movements of Surrealism, Neoclassicism and Expressionism, he is best known for pioneering the groundbreaking movement of Cubism alongside fellow artist Georges Braque in the 1910s. In his practice, he drew on African and Iberian visual culture as well as the developments in the fast-changing world around him.
Throughout his long and prolific career, the Spanish-born artist consistently pushed the boundaries of art to new extremes. Picasso's oeuvre is famously characterized by a radical diversity of styles, ranging from his early forays in Cubism to his Classical Period and his later more gestural expressionist work, and a diverse array of media including printmaking, drawing, ceramics and sculpture as well as theater sets and costumes designs.
Au théâtre: L'Astrologue (At the Theater: The Astrologer) (B. 1425, Ba. 1453)
1966/1975-77 Etching, on Rives BFK paper, with full margins. I. 8 3/4 x 12 1/2 in. (22.2 x 31.8 cm) S. 14 7/8 x 18 5/8 in. (37.8 x 47.3 cm) Stamp-signed and numbered 8/50 in pencil (there were also 15 artist's proofs in Roman numerals), published by Galerie Louise Leiris, Paris, 1981, framed.