C is for Chagall

Round 7 of ABC Wednesday is well on the way as it reaches C




This is a momentous day when this original Chagall etching, "Ezekiel's Vision", leaves my Berkeley house, where it has hung over the fireplace for more than thirty years. It goes to granddaughter, Daria Bishop, artist with her camera. I know she will take pleasure from when it hangs in her Vermont home. From the time we bought it, Otto and I knew that it should go to her some day.


When we bought it we surprised even ourselves.

I had loved Chagall's art ever since I first saw something of his in a magazine illustration, and when we went to see his etchings for his Bible series at the Hansen Gallery in San Francisco I already owned an unsigned lithograph (he only signed the first hundred and mine is #136) which was bought for me by son Otto at an exhibit and sale at Chico State University and one of his lithographed opera posters (for "Die Zauberflauta").

When we saw in the "events" section of the San Francisco Chronicle that Hansen Gallery would have a show of Chagall's etchings for his Bible series, we hied ourselves over to S. F. to enjoy an afternoon of art we knew that we would enjoy seeing.

But a signed rare Chagall etching had never found even a potential place in our budget. None-the-less we found ourselves the owners of "Ezekiel's Vision" by the time we returned home. It was love at first sight. To be sure we had to cut a few other things from our budget that had seemed to be necessary. Not that it was even in the car with us. It was marked "sold" but would remain for rest of the gallery show here then go on to other shows in New Orleans and Nw York before it was finally hung above our mantel.

Above is an oblique and frameless photo of my earliest Chagall lithograph - the unsigned one that Otto bought f0r me at Chico ('Solomon and Bathsheba'). It was shot at dusk last night by daughter Candace for me to use in this post - hence is both oblique and frameless to avoid reflections of the camera's flash.

For how other ABC blogger's responded to the letter C, click here or on banner.