James Dexter Havens, American, 1900–1960, Plum Broke, 1946, Woodcut, Edition: 66/80, 8 1/2 x 6 5/8 in., Saint Vincent College Collection. Photo: Richard Stoner.
James Dexter Havens was a pioneer of the American Woodcut Revival – a loose affiliation of artists active from the final decade of the 19th century until the onset of World War II whose collective creative output celebrates the time-honored exacting details inherent in the medium of wood engraving. Havens’ youth was marked by the debilitating effects of juvenile diabetes. Largely bedridden throughout his adolescence, Havens spent long hours drawing to combat boredom. His father, James S. Havens, was an executive at the Eastman Kodak Company and a former U.S. Congressman who employed his professional connections for his son to receive insulin therapy being developed at the University of Toronto. At twenty-two years old, Havens became the first American to successfully receive insulin treatment; permitting him to pursue his dreams of becoming an artist.
Plum Broke reveals Havens’ recurrent desire to illustrate the animating forces surging through the natural world. The accumulated weight of snowfall on this fruit tree has snapped several of its branches. The rest of a seemingly unmarred orchard recedes into the distance. Quieted by the snow, the scene recalls the severe winters of the artist’s native Rochester. Havens is best known for his three or four color thoroughly-composed relief prints depicting stylized regional landscapes and floral specimens teeming with life.
Plum Broke reveals Havens’ recurrent desire to illustrate the animating forces surging through the natural world. The accumulated weight of snowfall on this fruit tree has snapped several of its branches. The rest of a seemingly unmarred orchard recedes into the distance. Quieted by the snow, the scene recalls the severe winters of the artist’s native Rochester. Havens is best known for his three or four color thoroughly-composed relief prints depicting stylized regional landscapes and floral specimens teeming with life.