“Marshside Raccoon,” Carole Branagan (American, 20th c.), c.1970s etching on paper, 15×11 in sheet, 7.5 in image, pencil-signed, ed. 4/100.
“Marshside Raccoon” is a hand-pulled wildlife etching by American printmaker Carole Branagan, a New Jersey artist celebrated for her intimate, research-based nature studies. Created circa 1970s and printed in a small edition of only 100 impressions, this circular composition shows a raccoon pausing at the edge of a quiet marsh, surrounded by reeds and cattails. The print is pencil-signed and numbered 4/100, on fine cream wove paper, 15×11 inches (image approx. 7.5 inches). Acquired from the noted Mitch Morse Gallery, New York, and never framed or displayed, the impression remains in crisp, collectible vintage condition—an ideal piece for lovers of wildlife art, mid-century printmaking, and hand-pulled etchings.
Artwork description
This original intaglio etching exemplifies Branagan’s quietly observant approach to wildlife. Within a softly toned circular plate, a raccoon crouches on a low bank, one paw extended to touch the surface of a still pool. Concentric ripples spread outward, echoing the rounded format of the plate itself and giving the scene a gentle sense of movement. Behind the animal, tall reeds, cattails, and marsh grasses create a dense vertical screen, alternately described with fine cross-hatching and rich bitten tones.
Printed in warm brown ink on cream wove paper, the work recalls 19th-century naturalist illustration while remaining firmly modern in its simplified, graphic composition. The raccoon’s fur is rendered with meticulous etched line, while the water and vegetation rely on tonal aquatint-like textures and delicate drypoint-style accents. The print was pulled from a single copper plate, inked and wiped by hand, then run through an etching press to emboss the plate mark visible around the circular image.
The sheet measures 15×11 inches, with the image circle approximately 7.5 inches in diameter. In the lower margin, Branagan has numbered the work “4/100” at left and signed “C. Branagan” in graphite at right, confirming it as an early impression from the limited edition.
Branagan’s nature imagery is grounded in direct observation and travel; she is known to study the behavior and habitats of her subjects on site, then refine them into carefully composed prints. Here, the raccoon is neither sentimental nor threatening—it appears absorbed in its own world, emphasizing Branagan’s interest in animals as living participants in a fragile ecosystem rather than decorative motifs. The intimate scale and circular framing invite close, contemplative viewing, making the piece especially suited to a salon-style hanging or study wall focused on wildlife and printmaking.
Biography – Carole Branagan
Carole Branagan is an American printmaker and illustrator associated with the late-20th-century revival of fine art etching in the United States. Public sources consistently describe her as a native of New Jersey whose travels—particularly to South America and the Caribbean—informed her interest in wildlife and natural habitats. Active primarily in the 1970s and 1980s, she built a reputation for small-edition intaglio prints that combine precise drawing with subtle tonal effects.
Education and training
Branagan studied at several influential institutions: the Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh (now Carnegie Mellon University), the Traphagen School of Fashion in New York, and the Art Students League of New York. This blend of design, draftsmanship, and academic art training is evident in her disciplined line work and balanced compositions.
Artistic focus and influences
Her art centers on intimate, closely observed scenes of wildlife—owls, raccoons, herons, koalas, and other animals—often set within carefully described woodland, marsh, or coastal environments. Gallery and seller notes emphasize that she researched her subjects’ habitats in depth and relied on firsthand observation, aligning her with 20th-century naturalist artists and printmakers who treated wildlife with scientific care as well as aesthetic sensitivity.
Working almost exclusively in traditional intaglio techniques, Branagan uses etching and drypoint-like line to build structure, then modulates tone through controlled plate biting and selective wiping. Her prints are typically issued in relatively small editions—often under 100 impressions—which reinforces their appeal to collectors of hand-pulled prints rather than mass-produced reproductions.
Professional career and recognition
Branagan’s work was distributed widely through American galleries, print dealers, and major art publishers. Her limited editions were included in catalogs by The Collector’s Guild and Doubleday, which helped place her wildlife etchings into homes and collections across North America. She has been associated with the Guild of Creative Art, the Printmaking Council of New Jersey, and the International Society of Artists, reflecting her active engagement with regional and international art communities.
She also maintained a career as a portraitist; notably, New Jersey State Representative William Flynn commissioned her to create a pastel portrait that now hangs in the municipal complex in Old Bridge, New Jersey. Institutional recognition includes the Newark Museum (now The Newark Museum of Art), which holds at least one of her lithographs in its collection.
Today, Branagan’s prints continue to circulate through galleries, online dealers, and auction platforms, where they are described as works by a “listed American nature artist.” Although detailed personal data such as birth year is not widely published, the surviving documentation paints a consistent picture of a mid- to late-20th-century American printmaker whose practice combined solid academic training, intensive field observation, and a sustained commitment to traditional hand-pulled printmaking.
Carole Branagan (American, 20th c.)
Marshside Raccoon (also known as Racoon), c.1970s
Original intaglio etching on cream wove paper, brown ink
Sheet 15×11 in; image approx. 7.5 in diameter
Pencil-signed “C. Branagan” lower right, numbered 4/100 lower left
Unmatted, never framed; very good vintage condition.
Provenance: Mitch Morse Gallery, New York; Artfind Gallery, Washington, DC.
Certificate of Value & Authentication
Artist: Carole Branagan (American, 20th century)
Title:Marshside Raccoon (often catalogued as Racoon)
Date: Circa 1970s
Medium: Original hand-pulled intaglio etching on wove paper, brown ink
Dimensions: Sheet 15×11 in; circular image approx. 7.5 in diameter
Edition: 4/100
Signature: Pencil-signed “C. Branagan” lower right; numbered lower left
Condition: Image area in very good, clean, frameable vintage condition; sheet untrimmed, previously unframed and unmounted.
Provenance:
The artist, Carole Branagan (printer of the edition).
Mitch Morse Gallery, New York, NY (publisher/distributor).
Artfind Gallery, Washington, DC (present owner).
Authenticity:
This work has been examined against known examples of Carole Branagan’s signed wildlife etchings and matches her documented signature style, editioning practice, and printmaking techniques, as described by galleries and auction houses that have handled her work. The plate impression, paper, and ink characteristics are consistent with a hand-pulled intaglio etching from the 1970s.
Provenance chain
Carole Branagan (American, 20th c.), artist and printer of the edition, USA, c.1970s
Mitch Morse Gallery, New York, NY, USA – acquired directly from the artist as part of her limited-edition wildlife prints program, c.1970s–1980s
Artfind Gallery, Washington, DC, USA – acquired from the retired Mitch Morse Gallery inventory; current owner and representative
“Marshside Raccoon,” Carole Branagan (American, 20th c.), c.1970s etching on paper, 15×11 in sheet, 7.5 in image, pencil-signed, ed. 4/100.
“Marshside Raccoon” is a hand-pulled wildlife etching by American printmaker Carole Branagan, a New Jersey artist celebrated for her intimate, research-based nature studies. Created circa 1970s and printed in a small edition of only 100 impressions, this circular composition shows a raccoon pausing at the edge of a quiet marsh, surrounded by reeds and cattails. The print is pencil-signed and numbered 4/100, on fine cream wove paper, 15×11 inches (image approx. 7.5 inches). Acquired from the noted Mitch Morse Gallery, New York, and never framed or displayed, the impression remains in crisp, collectible vintage condition—an ideal piece for lovers of wildlife art, mid-century printmaking, and hand-pulled etchings.
Artwork description
This original intaglio etching exemplifies Branagan’s quietly observant approach to wildlife. Within a softly toned circular plate, a raccoon crouches on a low bank, one paw extended to touch the surface of a still pool. Concentric ripples spread outward, echoing the rounded format of the plate itself and giving the scene a gentle sense of movement. Behind the animal, tall reeds, cattails, and marsh grasses create a dense vertical screen, alternately described with fine cross-hatching and rich bitten tones.
Printed in warm brown ink on cream wove paper, the work recalls 19th-century naturalist illustration while remaining firmly modern in its simplified, graphic composition. The raccoon’s fur is rendered with meticulous etched line, while the water and vegetation rely on tonal aquatint-like textures and delicate drypoint-style accents. The print was pulled from a single copper plate, inked and wiped by hand, then run through an etching press to emboss the plate mark visible around the circular image.
The sheet measures 15×11 inches, with the image circle approximately 7.5 inches in diameter. In the lower margin, Branagan has numbered the work “4/100” at left and signed “C. Branagan” in graphite at right, confirming it as an early impression from the limited edition.
Branagan’s nature imagery is grounded in direct observation and travel; she is known to study the behavior and habitats of her subjects on site, then refine them into carefully composed prints. Here, the raccoon is neither sentimental nor threatening—it appears absorbed in its own world, emphasizing Branagan’s interest in animals as living participants in a fragile ecosystem rather than decorative motifs. The intimate scale and circular framing invite close, contemplative viewing, making the piece especially suited to a salon-style hanging or study wall focused on wildlife and printmaking.
Biography – Carole Branagan
Carole Branagan is an American printmaker and illustrator associated with the late-20th-century revival of fine art etching in the United States. Public sources consistently describe her as a native of New Jersey whose travels—particularly to South America and the Caribbean—informed her interest in wildlife and natural habitats. Active primarily in the 1970s and 1980s, she built a reputation for small-edition intaglio prints that combine precise drawing with subtle tonal effects.
Education and training
Branagan studied at several influential institutions: the Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh (now Carnegie Mellon University), the Traphagen School of Fashion in New York, and the Art Students League of New York. This blend of design, draftsmanship, and academic art training is evident in her disciplined line work and balanced compositions.
Artistic focus and influences
Her art centers on intimate, closely observed scenes of wildlife—owls, raccoons, herons, koalas, and other animals—often set within carefully described woodland, marsh, or coastal environments. Gallery and seller notes emphasize that she researched her subjects’ habitats in depth and relied on firsthand observation, aligning her with 20th-century naturalist artists and printmakers who treated wildlife with scientific care as well as aesthetic sensitivity.
Working almost exclusively in traditional intaglio techniques, Branagan uses etching and drypoint-like line to build structure, then modulates tone through controlled plate biting and selective wiping. Her prints are typically issued in relatively small editions—often under 100 impressions—which reinforces their appeal to collectors of hand-pulled prints rather than mass-produced reproductions.
Professional career and recognition
Branagan’s work was distributed widely through American galleries, print dealers, and major art publishers. Her limited editions were included in catalogs by The Collector’s Guild and Doubleday, which helped place her wildlife etchings into homes and collections across North America. She has been associated with the Guild of Creative Art, the Printmaking Council of New Jersey, and the International Society of Artists, reflecting her active engagement with regional and international art communities.
She also maintained a career as a portraitist; notably, New Jersey State Representative William Flynn commissioned her to create a pastel portrait that now hangs in the municipal complex in Old Bridge, New Jersey. Institutional recognition includes the Newark Museum (now The Newark Museum of Art), which holds at least one of her lithographs in its collection.
Today, Branagan’s prints continue to circulate through galleries, online dealers, and auction platforms, where they are described as works by a “listed American nature artist.” Although detailed personal data such as birth year is not widely published, the surviving documentation paints a consistent picture of a mid- to late-20th-century American printmaker whose practice combined solid academic training, intensive field observation, and a sustained commitment to traditional hand-pulled printmaking.
Carole Branagan (American, 20th c.)
Marshside Raccoon (also known as Racoon), c.1970s
Original intaglio etching on cream wove paper, brown ink
Sheet 15×11 in; image approx. 7.5 in diameter
Pencil-signed “C. Branagan” lower right, numbered 4/100 lower left
Unmatted, never framed; very good vintage condition.
Provenance: Mitch Morse Gallery, New York; Artfind Gallery, Washington, DC.
Certificate of Value & Authentication
Artist: Carole Branagan (American, 20th century)
Title:Marshside Raccoon (often catalogued as Racoon)
Date: Circa 1970s
Medium: Original hand-pulled intaglio etching on wove paper, brown ink
Dimensions: Sheet 15×11 in; circular image approx. 7.5 in diameter
Edition: 4/100
Signature: Pencil-signed “C. Branagan” lower right; numbered lower left
Condition: Image area in very good, clean, frameable vintage condition; sheet untrimmed, previously unframed and unmounted.
Provenance:
The artist, Carole Branagan (printer of the edition).
Mitch Morse Gallery, New York, NY (publisher/distributor).
Artfind Gallery, Washington, DC (present owner).
Authenticity:
This work has been examined against known examples of Carole Branagan’s signed wildlife etchings and matches her documented signature style, editioning practice, and printmaking techniques, as described by galleries and auction houses that have handled her work. The plate impression, paper, and ink characteristics are consistent with a hand-pulled intaglio etching from the 1970s.
Provenance chain
Carole Branagan (American, 20th c.), artist and printer of the edition, USA, c.1970s
Mitch Morse Gallery, New York, NY, USA – acquired directly from the artist as part of her limited-edition wildlife prints program, c.1970s–1980s
Artfind Gallery, Washington, DC, USA – acquired from the retired Mitch Morse Gallery inventory; current owner and representative
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