Ann Kipling: Prints (1958-67)

Ann Kipling's prints span less than a decade of her work as an artist. She is far better known for her drawings which were recently the subject of a major exhibition at the Vancouver Art Gallery (1995). This large exhibition of 81 drawings was subsequently shown in two separate portions at the Kamloops Art Gallery and the Art Gallery of the South Okanagan in 1996. (A catalogue documenting this exhibition was published by the Vancouver Art Gallery and contains three major essays on the artist and her work.) One of the essays was written by Ian M. Thom whose association with Kipling and her work goes back many years. He organized a small exhibition of Ann Kipling's prints for the the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria in 1982. Regrettably, the catalogue accompanying this 33 work exhibition only reproduced 5 of them. Our undertaking here is somewhat more ambitious: a virtual catalogue raisonné where every single print appears on the web site with pertinent cataloguing information. This is very much a work in progress and will eventually be published in the more conventional printing medium. Two separate exhibitions are being organized, the first is a small exhibition destined for smaller regional galleries in British Columbia. The second is a much more substantial exhibition which will eventually be shown at the Kamloops Art Gallery and will be offered to public art museums in North America and abroad.

Kipling's earliest essays in any of the print media date from 1958 when she was a student at the Vancouver School of Art (now the Emily Carr College of Art and Design). There are 7 works listed here from 1958 and 1959 in woodcut and lithography. One of her instructors at the School, Rudy Kovach (b. 1929) taught her the rudiments of lithography on the poor equipment available at the school at the time. She mentions an interest in etching but found herself to be unwelcome in the school's intaglio studio where the Hayter method was much in vogue, and the idea of someone who just wanted to draw directly on a metal plate seemed unworthy of the medium.

Another 5 woodcuts date from 1961, the year after her graduation from the School. Ann Kipling mentions the tremendous support she received from Alistair Bell (1913-1997), who shared with her his technical knowledge as well as his sources for paper, supplies, etc. The early woodcuts were all printed by hand. There may be other images from this early period but no proofs were located and no other works were remembered with any certainty by the artist. These early works are quite different from the more mature intaglio work done between 1964 and 1967, and any suggestion that these works are somehow less significant must be countered with the fact that the National Gallery of Canada purchased two of Kipling's 1958 woodcuts in 1962, these are Fish and Cock. Very typically at this time, the works are not usually editioned and in some cases may be unique impressions. Only the Fish woodcut exists as an edition of at least 12 proofs.

Kipling's situation after graduation from the Vancouver School of Art was somewhat tenuous. In 1962, she and her husband, the ceramic artist Leonhard Epp, moved to Lynn Valley, North Vancouver, where they lived until 1965 at which time they moved to the small community of Sunshine Falls on Indian Arm, and then, in 1967, to Richmond. All of her intaglio work dates from these years. She purchased a small etching press late in 1963 or early in 1964 and taught herself drypoint, etching and aquatint. Thom has pointed out how her intaglio work seems to have come about as a result of a desire to draw on metal.⁽¹⁾ Coincidentally, the first drypoints from 1964 occur at precisely the time when the artist was discovering her own unique style and method of working.⁽²⁾ Apart from the second Fish print of 1964, the first series of drypoints from 1964 consist of a series of portrait "heads."

There are no prints dated 1965. The works dated 1966 include a number of drypoints and etchings of various animals and plants, and an extraordinary series of landscape prints, mostly in drypoint. All this work was done in Sunshine Falls. In 1967, just before the move to Richmond, came the last series of portrait "heads," mostly etched. There have been no prints since 1967, although the artist still owns her press, and in 1998, is seriously entertaining the idea of making a print again. Essentially, she provides a number of reasons why she abandoned printmaking at this time: there was no market for drawings, let alone prints; she was never enamoured with the technique of printmaking itself — the grinding of the copper and zinc plates — the constant presence of acids in living quarters.

Kipling's approach to printmaking has always been somewhat less than orthodox. The editioning is of little importance to her. The proofs seem to exist as different essays in printing lines. Almost every edition is varied. Not only does an edition encompass various inkings, but different papers as well. The papers vary wildly in the earlier prints (1958-1961) and again in the earlier drypoints. Gradually, she settles on papers such as Rives BFK, and the later work from 1966 and 1967 is far more consistent as far as editioning goes. The editions are always small, usually less than 20 and often less than 10. The intaglio plates were occasionally inked with a roller and printed as one would print a woodcut. Because Kipling's working method usually involves completing a drawing or print in one session, there appear to be only two instances where impressions encompass more than one state. The works are never based on preliminary drawings or sketches, but record the artist's drawing directly on the plate. Because of this, many proofs are unique and the artist seems to have deemed the plates unworthy of further printing. These lesser prints nevertheless provide interesting information on the artist's working methods.

The exhibitions are drawn from an archival collection of her work, most of which the artist has donated to the Kamloops Art Gallery. The collection is remarkably complete and only two known proofs are missing. A catalogue raisonné seemed like the best way to examine the collection and provide some sense of this part of Kipling's work.

In the concluding paragraph of his brief 1982 essay on Ann Kipling's prints, Ian Thom mentions that "Kipling's prints are not a major part of her work but form a significant chapter in her own development and Canadian printmaking." She may indeed have produced only 162 prints and none of these during the past 30 years. Looking over some of the drypoints, for instance, it is clear that Kipling's work in the medium is quite extraordinary: the particularly sensitive medium of the drypoint with its marvelous and sensuous line is perfect for Kipling, and her accomplishment in its use can not be slighted in any way. It would be interesting to see her revisit the medium after 30 years. Nothing would give me greater pleasure than to continue with this catalogue.

Notes:

1. Thom, Ian. Ann Kipling: Prints. (Victoria: Art Gallery of Greater Victoria), 1982.

2. Laurence, Robin. A Line of Connection, in Ann Kipling (Vancouver: The Vancouver Art Gallery) 1995, 45.

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