This rare 1959 hand-pulled lithograph by Albert Geistner captures the quiet intensity of a young boy rendered in a powerful, woodblock-inspired black-and-white style. Geistner blends European modernist draftsmanship with Asian printmaking influences, creating a striking 16×26 inch portrait that is both minimal and emotionally resonant. Signed and numbered 78/200, this edition originates from the respected Mitch Morse Gallery collection, enhancing authenticity and long-term collector value.
Boy with Rope is a haunting, contemplative portrait created during one of Albert Geistner’s most refined stylistic periods. Executed in 1959, the work reflects his lifelong dialogue between East and West, merging the reductive elegance of Japanese and Chinese woodcuts with the firm linearity of mid-century European printmaking.
The boy’s expression is rendered with a subtle ambiguity—both vulnerable and composed—capturing the psychological inwardness often prized in postwar portraiture. Geistner uses vertical striations and carved-line textures reminiscent of woodblock impressions, even though the work is lithographic, imparting a sense of hand-chiseled intimacy and tactile depth.
The stark black forms float on softly textured paper, creating a high-contrast silhouette that emphasizes gesture and emotional weight. The rope, rendered as a looping, abstract line, becomes both a compositional anchor and symbolic thread—suggesting childhood, restraint, or connection.
The work is hand-signed Albert Geistner 1959 and numbered 78/200. The large 16×26 inch format showcases the artist’s mastery over space, reduction, and visual tension, making it one of the most compelling mid-century prints in his oeuvre.
Albert Geistner (1914–1996) was a French-born American printmaker, draftsman, and painter whose work bridged European modernist traditions and the growing American appetite for expressive, Asian-inflected printmaking in the postwar decades. Born in Alsace, Geistner grew up in a region where French, German, and Central European artistic influences intermingled. This multicultural environment shaped his early sensibilities toward form, line, and expressive reduction.
He studied drawing and traditional graphic techniques in Paris prior to World War II, absorbing the influences of Käthe Kollwitz, Japanese ukiyo-e masters, German expressionists, and School of Paris figurative printmakers. Geistner immigrated to the United States shortly after the war, joining the wave of European-trained artists who revitalized American printmaking with rigorous technique and cosmopolitan vision.
During the late 1940s–1960s, Geistner became associated with workshop-based printmaking traditions in New York and Philadelphia, where he practiced lithography, woodcut, and drypoint. His hallmark style featured:
• simplified figures with sculptural clarity
• Asian woodblock–inspired reductions of form
• emphasis on psychological presence over narrative detail
• deeply felt, textural black ink work
His portraits—often children, women, or solitary figures—evoke a timeless quietude and emotional complexity. Geistner exhibited internationally throughout mid-century, including group shows in Europe and the United States, and his works entered private collections and educational institutions focused on printmaking.
By the 1950s, Geistner had achieved recognition among collectors of modern graphic art, and his limited editions were circulated through respected distributors, including Mitch Morse Gallery. Today, Geistner’s work is appreciated for its blend of Eastern minimalism and Western figuration, marking him as a unique voice in postwar printmaking.
Albert Geistner, Boy with Rope, 1959, hand-pulled lithograph, 16×26 in., signed and numbered 78/200. A powerful woodcut-inspired portrait merging Asian minimalism with European modernist linework. Excellent provenance from Mitch Morse Gallery.
Artist: Albert Geistner (1914–1996)
Title: Boy with Rope (attributed title)
Medium: Hand-pulled lithograph
Year: 1959
Dimensions: 16 × 26 inches
Edition: 78/200
Signature: Hand-signed and dated in pencil, lower right
Provenance: Mitch Morse Gallery (retired), New York; acquired by Artfind Gallery, Washington, DC
Authentication: Verified original lithograph with period-consistent signature, materials, and editioning.
• Artist: Albert Geistner
• Publisher/Distributor: Mid-century American/European print workshop
• Gallery Acquisition: Mitch Morse Gallery, NYC (retired)
• Current Owner: Artfind Gallery, Washington, DC
Title: Albert Geistner — Signed 1959 Lithograph (Edition 78/200)
Experience the expressive power of Albert Geistner’s 1959 lithograph, a woodblock-inspired portrait blending Asian minimalism with European modernism. Signed, numbered, and sourced from the respected Mitch Morse Gallery collection.
#artfindgallery #albertgeistner #midcenturyart #lithograph #modernistportrait #expressionistart #vintageprints #rareart #gallerydc #collectfineart
This rare 1959 hand-pulled lithograph by Albert Geistner captures the quiet intensity of a young boy rendered in a powerful, woodblock-inspired black-and-white style. Geistner blends European modernist draftsmanship with Asian printmaking influences, creating a striking 16×26 inch portrait that is both minimal and emotionally resonant. Signed and numbered 78/200, this edition originates from the respected Mitch Morse Gallery collection, enhancing authenticity and long-term collector value.
Boy with Rope is a haunting, contemplative portrait created during one of Albert Geistner’s most refined stylistic periods. Executed in 1959, the work reflects his lifelong dialogue between East and West, merging the reductive elegance of Japanese and Chinese woodcuts with the firm linearity of mid-century European printmaking.
The boy’s expression is rendered with a subtle ambiguity—both vulnerable and composed—capturing the psychological inwardness often prized in postwar portraiture. Geistner uses vertical striations and carved-line textures reminiscent of woodblock impressions, even though the work is lithographic, imparting a sense of hand-chiseled intimacy and tactile depth.
The stark black forms float on softly textured paper, creating a high-contrast silhouette that emphasizes gesture and emotional weight. The rope, rendered as a looping, abstract line, becomes both a compositional anchor and symbolic thread—suggesting childhood, restraint, or connection.
The work is hand-signed Albert Geistner 1959 and numbered 78/200. The large 16×26 inch format showcases the artist’s mastery over space, reduction, and visual tension, making it one of the most compelling mid-century prints in his oeuvre.
Albert Geistner (1914–1996) was a French-born American printmaker, draftsman, and painter whose work bridged European modernist traditions and the growing American appetite for expressive, Asian-inflected printmaking in the postwar decades. Born in Alsace, Geistner grew up in a region where French, German, and Central European artistic influences intermingled. This multicultural environment shaped his early sensibilities toward form, line, and expressive reduction.
He studied drawing and traditional graphic techniques in Paris prior to World War II, absorbing the influences of Käthe Kollwitz, Japanese ukiyo-e masters, German expressionists, and School of Paris figurative printmakers. Geistner immigrated to the United States shortly after the war, joining the wave of European-trained artists who revitalized American printmaking with rigorous technique and cosmopolitan vision.
During the late 1940s–1960s, Geistner became associated with workshop-based printmaking traditions in New York and Philadelphia, where he practiced lithography, woodcut, and drypoint. His hallmark style featured:
• simplified figures with sculptural clarity
• Asian woodblock–inspired reductions of form
• emphasis on psychological presence over narrative detail
• deeply felt, textural black ink work
His portraits—often children, women, or solitary figures—evoke a timeless quietude and emotional complexity. Geistner exhibited internationally throughout mid-century, including group shows in Europe and the United States, and his works entered private collections and educational institutions focused on printmaking.
By the 1950s, Geistner had achieved recognition among collectors of modern graphic art, and his limited editions were circulated through respected distributors, including Mitch Morse Gallery. Today, Geistner’s work is appreciated for its blend of Eastern minimalism and Western figuration, marking him as a unique voice in postwar printmaking.
Albert Geistner, Boy with Rope, 1959, hand-pulled lithograph, 16×26 in., signed and numbered 78/200. A powerful woodcut-inspired portrait merging Asian minimalism with European modernist linework. Excellent provenance from Mitch Morse Gallery.
Artist: Albert Geistner (1914–1996)
Title: Boy with Rope (attributed title)
Medium: Hand-pulled lithograph
Year: 1959
Dimensions: 16 × 26 inches
Edition: 78/200
Signature: Hand-signed and dated in pencil, lower right
Provenance: Mitch Morse Gallery (retired), New York; acquired by Artfind Gallery, Washington, DC
Authentication: Verified original lithograph with period-consistent signature, materials, and editioning.
• Artist: Albert Geistner
• Publisher/Distributor: Mid-century American/European print workshop
• Gallery Acquisition: Mitch Morse Gallery, NYC (retired)
• Current Owner: Artfind Gallery, Washington, DC
Title: Albert Geistner — Signed 1959 Lithograph (Edition 78/200)
Experience the expressive power of Albert Geistner’s 1959 lithograph, a woodblock-inspired portrait blending Asian minimalism with European modernism. Signed, numbered, and sourced from the respected Mitch Morse Gallery collection.
#artfindgallery #albertgeistner #midcenturyart #lithograph #modernistportrait #expressionistart #vintageprints #rareart #gallerydc #collectfineart
