1960s Edna Hibel “David & Bathsheba” Lithograph | Signed “Hibel” & “Unique” | Everett Oehlschlaeger Galleries Chicago

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Edna Hibel (American, 1917–2014), David & Bathsheba, an original stone lithograph, hand-signed “Hibel” and designated “Unique” by the artist. Presented … Read more Edna Hibel (American, 1917–2014), David & Bathsheba, an original stone lithograph, hand-signed “Hibel” and designated “Unique” by the artist. Presented beneath glass in an ornate period gilt frame and retaining its Everett Oehlschlaeger Galleries, Chicago label on the reverse.

An exceptionally intimate composition, David & Bathsheba depicts the biblical figures in close profile, their faces brought together within a remarkably concentrated pictorial field. Hibel’s characteristic elongated features, finely articulated eyes, delicate contours and fluid draftsmanship give the figures a serene, almost icon-like presence. The composition is dominated by a magnificent saturated orange ground, punctuated by passages of blue, rose, ivory, gold and black. The unusual intensity of the coloration gives this relatively small work extraordinary visual presence.

Of particular importance is Hibel’s designation of this impression as “Unique.” Within Hibel’s original lithographic practice, “Unique” had a specific meaning. Hibel described a Unique as a single impression intentionally produced with an individual combination of colors and/or paper, distinguishing such an impression from a conventional artist’s proof or trial proof. The designation therefore identifies this example as an individually conceived variation within Hibel’s printmaking process rather than simply another impression from a uniformly printed edition.

This distinction is especially relevant to the extraordinary orange coloration of the present work. Hibel was actively involved in the creation of her original stone lithographs and experimented extensively with papers, inks, transparencies, color combinations and successive states. Her lithographs were produced through the traditional process in which the artist works directly on lithographic stones rather than through photographic reproduction. Variations produced during this creative process could result in individual impressions possessing substantially different visual character.

The present example is both hand-signed “Hibel” and separately marked “Unique,” making those inscriptions integral to the identification and character of this particular impression.

David and Bathsheba formed part of Hibel’s broader exploration of biblical and historical subjects. Her body of work includes other treatments of the narrative, including Dialogue of David and Bathsheba, The Wedding of David and Bathsheba, and David, Bathsheba and Solomon, demonstrating that the story was a recurring subject within her artistic vocabulary.

The reverse retains an Everett Oehlschlaeger Galleries label identifying the work as “David & Bathsheba” and recording a period retail price of $165. The number “2381” also appears on the reverse and is believed to represent a gallery or inventory number. The surviving label provides important period documentation, preserving the title under which the work was originally presented commercially as well as its historical Chicago gallery association.

Everett Oehlschlaeger Galleries was an established Chicago fine-art gallery, and the survival of its original label materially strengthens the documented history of this example. A $165 retail price during the late 1960s represented a meaningful gallery price for a work of this scale and provides additional context for the manner in which the lithograph was originally marketed and collected.

The work remains presented in its elaborate period gilt frame. The deeply molded frame incorporates a decorative inner border and richly textured gilded surface whose warm gold tones complement the orange, ochre and rose passages of the lithograph particularly well. The substantial frame gives the intimately scaled image a jewel-like presentation and considerable visual presence.

Edna Hibel studied at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and developed an international career spanning painting, drawing and printmaking. Original stone lithography became an important part of her artistic practice during the 1960s. Her work is particularly recognized for its sensitive representations of women, children, families and historical or biblical subjects, characterized by elongated figures, expressive faces and a distinctive use of color.

Hibel took particular care to distinguish her original lithographs from reproductions. Her original stone lithographs originated with drawings made specifically for the lithographic process, with the resulting impressions personally reviewed and signed by the artist. Her experimentation within that process produced proofs and individual variations, of which works explicitly designated “Unique” occupy a particularly interesting position.

Combining an artist-designated Unique impression, hand signature, remarkable original coloration, period gilt framing and surviving Everett Oehlschlaeger Galleries documentation, this example of David & Bathsheba possesses an unusually complete combination of artistic and historical attributes. See less