“Morse Lake,” Larry Kirkwood (1943–2012), c.1970s serigraph, 26×20 in (img 24×17), signed & numbered 14/275.

“Morse Lake,” Larry Kirkwood (1943–2012), c.1970s serigraph, 26×20 in (img 24×17), signed & numbered 14/275.

“Morse Lake” is an original limited-edition serigraph by American artist Larry Kirkwood (1943–2012), pencil signed, titled, and numbered 14/275. A serene modern landscape with clean-edged color fields and subtle texture, it’s a collectible vintage screenprint ideal for contemporary, mid-century, and minimalist interiors.

Artwork Description

“Morse Lake” presents a calm, pared-down landscape built from stacked planes of color—earthy foreground bands, a luminous lake surface, distant mountains, and a softly glowing sky. Kirkwood’s approach leans toward reductive modernism: simplified forms, controlled edges, and carefully balanced negative space that heightens the mood of stillness. The composition reads like a quiet “pause” in nature—orderly, contemplative, and timeless.

As a serigraph (screenprint), the work is created through a stencil-based process in which individual color layers are printed sequentially. The crisp silhouettes and flat, even passages of color suggest multiple screens, while subtle surface variations and gentle tonal shifts point to intentional layering rather than a single-pass print. The pencil inscription at the margin—title, edition number, and artist’s signature—anchors it as a hand-signed limited edition intended for collectors.

Visually, the print’s calm geometry and restrained palette feel consistent with the late 1970s–1980s taste for refined scenic modernism—nature distilled into shape, tone, and atmosphere. The result is decorative but not merely decorative: it’s an image designed to hold a room quietly, rewarding long looking through its balance and understated technique.

Artist Biography

Larry Thomas Kirkwood (1943–2012) was an American artist and printmaker known for serigraphy/silkscreen practice and later for a traveling, participatory art and education initiative often described as a body image project. He was born October 4, 1943, in Knoxville, Iowa, and graduated from Knoxville schools (Class of 1961). He earned a bachelor’s degree at the University of Missouri–Kansas City, majoring in Philosophy, and completed graduate work at the University of Kansas focused on aesthetics (the philosophy of art)—an academic foundation that strongly aligns with the clarity and intentional restraint seen in his mature print designs. 

Kirkwood lived and worked in Kansas City and later moved his studio to Florida, where he continued developing his art career and also taught and lectured. Published biographical notices report that he was listed in Who’s Who in American Art and noted in an international Who’s Who in Cambridge, England; he also taught silkscreening at the Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach. 

In the early 1990s he returned to Kansas City and developed a traveling program centered on body imaging and self-perception, bringing work to colleges and universities and pairing exhibitions with talks and student engagement. This educational emphasis appears in multiple campus and conference references, describing installations of torso-based artworks and programming framed around body acceptance and self-concept.

Kirkwood’s broader profile is that of an artist who bridged fine-art printmaking with public-facing education—moving from editioned works (such as “Morse Lake”) toward participatory projects that used art as a tool for reflection, confidence, and community dialogue. 

Larry Kirkwood (American, 1943–2012)
Morse Lake, c.1970s–1980s
Serigraph (screenprint) on paper
Sheet: 26 × 20 in.; Image: 24 × 17 in.
Pencil signed, titled, and numbered 14/275
Condition: Unmatted; never framed/displayed per seller; strong vintage condition with clean image area.
Provenance: Mitch Morse Gallery (NYC; acquired US & Europe) → Artfind Gallery, Washington, DC.

Certificate of Value & Authentication

Certificate of Authenticity & Value
Artist: Larry Kirkwood (American, 1943–2012)
Title: Morse Lake
Medium: Original serigraph (screenprint) on paper
Edition: 14/275 (pencil numbered)
Signature: Pencil signed “L. Kirkwood” (lower margin)
Size: Sheet 26 × 20 inches; Image 24 × 17 inches
Approx. date: c.1970s–1980s (editioned serigraph period consistent with artist’s documented practice)
Condition (visual review + provided notes): Unmatted; never framed/displayed; image area presents as clean and frameable vintage condition.

Authentication basis: Handwritten title, edition notation, and signature in pencil consistent with standard fine-art editioning practice; provenance from Mitch Morse Gallery with continuous chain to Artfind Gallery.

Provenance Chain (Collector Format)

Larry Kirkwood (artist) → Mitch Morse Gallery Inc., New York City (acquired in the U.S. and Europe) → Artfind Gallery, Washington, DC (current owner).