South Main St., Waterbury, by Edward J. Balthazar, Amer., (1889-1956)

Etching, 1946, Ed. 60, 6-15/16 x 8-3/16, signed in the plate at lower left, pale trace of mat line, a few tiny thin spots and traces of tape residue at top and bottom edge verso from removal of old hinges, on cream wove paper with full margins as printed. This print has been alternately titled Washington Hill, Waterbury. A wonderful scene of Waterbury in it's industrial wartime heyday of the mid-1940's, rendered with economy and candor by Balthazar, who's prints carry a distinctly Hopper-esque ethos. Edward J. Balthazar graduated in 1915 from Yale with a degree in law, but his passion was always painting and printmaking, and his teacher George Bellows at the Art Students League where he studied early on arranged the first exhibition of Balthazar's work. High praise indeed!