Artist: Fred Biesel (American, 1893–1955)
Title: Untitled (Window Still Life) Etching Plate
Date: 1929
Medium: Copper etching plate
Dimensions: 4 in x 5 in.
Credit Line: Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University,  Gift of Robert Alter and Sherry Siegel, 2024.20

Fred Biesel’s Untitled (Window Still Life) etching plate is a new addition to The Block Museum’s collection, enriching our understanding of the artist’s practice and the traditional etching process. This copper plate, used to create the final etching now held in the museum’s collection, serves as a direct link to Biesel’s studio and technique. The image it produces captures a quiet, intimate view from a city apartment window. The scene is a reflection of the artist’s world, combining external urban and personal elements. The etching shows nearby buildings, shelves of books, an artist’s palette, and a candlestick telephone, which at the time signaled modernity.

Biesel and his wife, Frances Strain, were influential figures in Chicago’s art scene during the early to mid-20th century. Together, they helped establish important exhibition groups such as the Chicago No-Jury Society of Artists and The Ten, both of which provided platforms for modernist and avant-garde artists. Biesel and Strain lived and worked in the 57th Street art colony, a community that included prominent artists like Emil Armin and writers such as Sherwood Anderson. Their work often depicted the industrial and rural landscapes surrounding Chicago, but Untitled (Window Still Life) stands apart as a more personal, domestic scene.

This etching plate complements other works in The Block’s collection that explore traditional printmaking techniques, including the etching plates for Norman L. Rice’s Hunger. When displayed alongside the print, etching plates offer viewers a rare opportunity to see the process of creating an etching from its matrix to the final print. The plate also serves as a tangible connection to Chicago’s modernist art scene and Biesel’s central role within it.

Fred Biesel’s Untitled (Window Still Life) etching plate not only highlights the artist’s technical skill but also deepens our understanding of Chicago’s vibrant artistic history. This modest yet meaningful work captures the essence of Biesel’s practice and his connection to the modern world.

– Contributed by Corinne Granof, Academic Curator