Paul Froelich (American, 1897-1968), "Nude Figure at Her Bath", early 20th c., full-color monoprint (monotype) on heavy paper card, signed lower left, sheet 16 3/4 in. x 13 5-8 in., plate mark 14 in. x 12 in. in an historic frame made by the vintage photographer George H. Seely (American, 1880-1955). E2500-3500 Provenance: Grantzel Fitz to George Rinhart. Note: The richly saturated pigments and boldly thick layers of color, in this unique print, give a very strong first impression of direct, individual application; but closer study reveals their occasional migration under pressure over the edge of the plate, and their sometimes imperfect retention on the paper (because of their encrusted thickness), when the sheet was lifted. Such an experimental technique looks back to the drawings and paintings of Degas, as well as to the monotypes of Cassatt-both of whose styles and iconographies, of course, are also directly recalled by the composition and handling of this subject (with such visual echoes as its Degas-like chair, and Cassatt-inspired palette). A Philadelphia native, Paul Froelich entered the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts at fifteen, and at age seventeen won traveling scholarships that took him to Europe for almost three years. Since his mature style tended toward a more linear abstraction, this is probably an early work, perhaps executed around the time Froelich left the Academy in 1920, or in the decade or so following. He made his career as a printmaker (with a special interest in monotypes), as well as a painter, illustrator, art director, and teacher, especially at the Philadelphia College of Art (the former Philadelphia Museum School of Art) from the 1940s to the 1960s. He and his wife lived principally in Bucks County after they bought a farmhouse near New Hope in 1931. Reference: Bucks County Artists, The James A. Michener Art Museum, Doylestown, PA, 2001.