Framed Pair of 19th Century 'War' and 'Peace' Hand-Tinted Lithographs

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These 19th-century lithographs—War and Peace—carry the layered authorship typical of British printmaking at the time, where image, technique, and distribution … Read more These 19th-century lithographs—War and Peace—carry the layered authorship typical of British printmaking at the time, where image, technique, and distribution each played a distinct role. After compositions associated with important sporting artist Benjamin Marshall, the works were engraved by Charles Turner and published in London by W. C. Lee, before making their way across the Atlantic and retailed through Chicago's famed Marshall Field's department store.

The subjects—gamecocks—are rendered with deliberate symbolism. In War, the bird is coiled and assertive, its posture tense, energy contained but ready to break. In Peace, the counterpart is composed, grounded, its stance resolved rather than reactive. Together, they read less as decoration than as allegory: opposing states distilled into a single, legible language of form and gesture.

Each print is hand-tinted in saturated greens, reds, yellows, and deep blacks, the color doing what line alone cannot: heightening the drama, clarifying the mood. They were never meant to be subtle.

Hung together, they read as a study in opposition—and a reminder that tension, handled well, is its own kind of elegance. See less