Helen Hyde

Helen Hyde (1868-1919) was an American etcher and engraver. She is best known for her color etching process and woodblock prints reflecting Japanese women and children characterizations.

Life

Born in Lima, New York, Hyde spent her adolescent years in California. Her art education began at the age of twelve when she studied for two years with Ferdinand Richardt, an American-Danish artist. After the death of Hyde's father in 1882, her aunt, Augusta Bixler, provided the remaining Hyde family with a home. [http://www.theartofjapan.com/ArtistBio.asp?At=HelenHyde The Art of Japan-Fine Japanese Prints] ,accessed June 30, 2008.] Between 1882 and 1888, Hyde continued her education by graduating from Wellesley School for Girls andattending the California School of Design. [http://www.cla.purdue.edu/waaw/jensen/hyde.html Joan Jensen] , "Women Artists of the American West: Helen Hyde, American Printmaker". accessed June 30, 2008.] For the next six years, Hyde developed her artistic talents through her studies with Franz Skarbina in Berlin and Felix Regamey in Paris. Regamey introduced Hyde to the Japonism movement through his vast Japanese art collection. The paintings of Mary Cassatt, an American impressionist, were also very influential in Hyde's decision to focus on Japanese attributes in her works. Mary Cassatt's paintings were significantly inspired by Japanese works of art, and many of her paintings were women andchildren themes. [http://www.jstor.org/stable/3642050 Joan M. Jensen] "Women on the Pacific Rim: Some Thoughts on Border Crossings". "The Pacific Historical Review" Vol. 67, No. 1 (Feb., 1998), accessed June 30, 2008.] Hyde also studied with Emil Carlsen, an American painter, and Kano Tomonobu, the final master painter at the famous Kano school of Japanese painting. [http://www.jstor.org/stable/4116241 K. W. McG.] , "Helen Hyde", "Bulletin of the Art Institute of Chicago"Vol. 14, No. 5 (May,1920), acessed June 30, 2008.]

By 1894, Hyde had returned to California and began to sketch likenesses of Chinatown women and children. Through her association with the Sketch Club, Hyde met and became friends with Josephine Hyde. Together they attempted color etchings, and in 1899, the two Hyde women settled in Japan to study the country's painting techniques.

While Josephine Hyde returned to America, Helen Hyde continued her study in Japan in color woodblock printing. In Japan, Helen Hyde learned the Japanese woodblock printing techniques from masters such as Emil Orlik, a European living in Japan. Hyde resided in Japan from 1903 through 1913 and refined color woodblock printing to a fine art. During this time, Hyde alsotraveled extensively to China, India, and Mexico. In 1914, Hyde left Japan and took up residency in the United States until her death in 1919. [http://www.castlefinearts.com/Japanese_fine_arts_woodblock_prints/Helen_Hyde_Biography.aspx?catID=260&Page=2 Castle Fine Arts] , Helen Hyde (1868-1919), accessed June 30, 2008.]

Work

Hyde's prints are still sold at public galleries, and a vast collection of her works are within the confines of the Library of Congress in Washington,D.C. Examples of Hyde's works can be seen at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C. Two of Hyde's award winning works are "A Monarch of Japan" and "Baby Talk." In 1901, Hyde's "A Monarch of Japan" took first place in the Nihon Kaiga Kyokai exhibition. This work is now housed at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. [http://americanart.si.edu/search/search_artworks1.cfm?StartRow=1&LastName=&FirstName=&Title=a+monarch+of+japan&Keyword=&Accession=&query=artworks&dosearch=Go&db=all&format=short Smithsonian American Art Museum] , accessed June 30, 2008.] In 1909, Hyde's "Baby Talk" received a Gold Medal at the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exhibition. This work is now housed at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. [http://americanart.si.edu/search/search_artworks1.cfm?StartRow=1&LastName=&FirstName=&Title=baby+talk&Keyword=&Accession=&query=artworks&dosearch=Go&db=all&format=short Smithsonian American Art Museum] , accessed June 30, 2008.]

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