Print Collection

Created in 1922, this print may depict a collection of prints being displayed, handled, or appreciated, making it a self-referential work about the medium in which it was made. Walter J. Phillips was deeply knowledgeable about the history and technique of printmaking, having written extensively on the subject, and a composition showing a print collection would reflect this scholarly engagement. Alternatively, the title may refer to a specific set of prints published together as a portfolio. Phillips's 1922 date places this during his early period of intense experimentation with the Japanese woodcut method, when he was simultaneously producing prints and thinking critically about the medium's history and possibilities. The self-reflexive quality of a print about print collecting adds an intellectual dimension to what might otherwise appear as a simple still life or interior scene.