William S. Rice
Encyclopedia
William Seltzer Rice was an American woodblock print
artist and art educator
associated with the Arts and Crafts Movement
in California.
in Lancaster County
, Pennsylvania, he grew up with his parents in his grandparent's home on Market Square that had been occupied by his family for four generations. His parents were John Rice and Sara Seltzer Rice. His grandfather, Samuel Rice, operated a carriage painting business in a shop at the back of the property. Interested in painting from a young age, William Rice set up a small studio in the corner of his grandfather's shop. He took occasional lessons from itinerant painters.
, where Howard Pyle
was among his teachers.
He also attended classes at the Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art
, now known as the University of the Arts
. There, he began a friendship with Frederick Meyer
, a German immigrant who later was hired as art supervisor for the Stockton public schools
.
, California. Meyer moved to San Francisco in 1902, and Rice was promoted to Meyer's job.
Rice began a personal exploration of scenic California, visiting Yosemite National Park
in 1901 and Lake Tahoe
in 1904. He also visited all of the Spanish missions in California
.
In 1910, Meyer convinced Rice to relocate to the San Francisco Bay Area
to participate more actively in the Arts and Crafts movement, and Rice obtained a job teaching art for the Alameda public schools
.
He spent the rest of his professional career teaching art in the Alameda and Oakland public schools
. He taught drawing and painting, as well as crafts, including metalcraft and leather working. He began freelance writing and illustrating for Sunset Magazine.
In 1913, he studied design with Ralph Johonnot, an associate of Arthur Wesley Dow
, who was an early advocate of color block printing in the United States. Rice toured Europe in the summer of 1913, visiting Chartres
, Rothenberg
and Venice
.
In 1915, he married Susan Steel, and they honeymooned at Lake Tahoe. That same year, the Panama Pacific International Exposition took place in San Francisco, and he was impressed by the Japanese woodblock prints
he saw there. He resolved to become a woodblock print artist. Instead of following the Japanese team method, where an artist did an original painting, who then turned it over to a team of wood carvers and printers, he decided to take control of the entire creative process himself.
His friend Frederick Meyer had founded the School of the California Guild of Arts and Crafts, originally in Berkeley and later in Oakland. After receiving accreditation, it was renamed the California College of Arts and Crafts. Meyer hired Rice to teach summer classes at his school. In addition, Rice also taught evening extension classes at the University of California, Berkeley
.
In 1918, Rice had his first major exhibition of wood and linoleum
block prints at the Palace of Fine Arts
in San Francisco, which was designed by Bernard Maybeck
for the Panama Pacific International Exposition.
Rice wrote two teaching texts, Block Printing in the Schools (1929) and Block Prints: How To Make Them (1941), both published by Bruce Publishing Company.
Rice won the Best Print award at the show of the California Society of Etchers
in 1933. Gump's
in San Francisco was one of his leading dealers. His work was displayed in the printmaker's exhibition at the 1939 New York World's Fair
.
His artistic collaborators and influences included Pedro Lemos, Elizabeth Norton, Roi Partridge, Gustave Baumann
, Lorenzo P. Latimer, Norma Bassett Hall
and the sisters Mary & Frances Gearhart.
His work was featured in a one-man show at Villa Montalvo
in Saratoga
, California in 1959.
William S. Rice died at his home in Oakland
, California in 1963.
held an exhibition called American Color Woodcuts: The Years of Transition, that featured the works of 40 artists including Rice.
His works are in the collections of the California College of the Arts
, the National Museum of American Art, the Boston Public Library
, the New York Public Library
, the California State Library
, the Library of Congress
, the Achenbach Foundation for the Graphic Arts, the Elvehjem Museum , the Oakland Museum of California
, the Fitzwilliam Museum
. and the Hood Museum of Art
at Dartmouth College
.
Woodblock printing
Woodblock printing is a technique for printing text, images or patterns used widely throughout East Asia and originating in China in antiquity as a method of printing on textiles and later paper....
artist and art educator
Art education
Art education is the area of learning that is based upon the visual, tangible arts—drawing, painting, sculpture, and design in jewelry, pottery, weaving, fabrics, etc. and design applied to more practical fields such as commercial graphics and home furnishings...
associated with the Arts and Crafts Movement
Arts and Crafts movement
Arts and Crafts was an international design philosophy that originated in England and flourished between 1860 and 1910 , continuing its influence until the 1930s...
in California.
Early life
Born and raised in ManheimManheim, Pennsylvania
Manheim is a borough in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 4,784 at the 2000 census.-General information:*ZIP code: 17545*Area code: 717*Education: Manheim Central School District and Manheim Central High School-History:...
in Lancaster County
Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
Lancaster County, known as the Garden Spot of America or Pennsylvania Dutch Country, is a county located in the southeastern part of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, in the United States. As of 2010 the population was 519,445. Lancaster County forms the Lancaster Metropolitan Statistical Area, the...
, Pennsylvania, he grew up with his parents in his grandparent's home on Market Square that had been occupied by his family for four generations. His parents were John Rice and Sara Seltzer Rice. His grandfather, Samuel Rice, operated a carriage painting business in a shop at the back of the property. Interested in painting from a young age, William Rice set up a small studio in the corner of his grandfather's shop. He took occasional lessons from itinerant painters.
Education
After completing high school, Rice himself began teaching drawing, saving his money to attend art school in Philadelphia, where he lived with a cousin. He won an art school scholarship, and also got a job with the Philadelphia Times as a staff artist. He began studies at the newly-founded Drexel InstituteDrexel University
Drexel University is a private research university with the main campus located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. It was founded in 1891 by Anthony J. Drexel, a noted financier and philanthropist. Drexel offers 70 full-time undergraduate programs and accelerated degrees...
, where Howard Pyle
Howard Pyle
Howard Pyle was an American illustrator and author, primarily of books for young people. A native of Wilmington, Delaware, he spent the last year of his life in Florence, Italy.__FORCETOC__...
was among his teachers.
He also attended classes at the Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art
Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art
The Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art was chartered by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on February 26, 1876. This was in response to the Centennial International Exhibition held in Philadelphia that year....
, now known as the University of the Arts
University of the Arts (Philadelphia)
The University of the Arts is one of the United States' oldest universities dedicated to the arts. Its campus makes up part of the Avenue of the Arts in Center City, Philadelphia...
. There, he began a friendship with Frederick Meyer
Frederick Meyer
Frederick Heinrich Wilhelm Meyer , was an art educator prominent in the Arts and Crafts movement in the San Francisco Bay Area.-Early years:...
, a German immigrant who later was hired as art supervisor for the Stockton public schools
Stockton Unified School District
Stockton Unified School District, is a school district headquartered in Stockton, California.Most of the city of Stockton is served by SUSD.-Grade reconfiguration:...
.
Career in California
In 1900, Meyer hired Rice as assistant art supervisor, and he relocated to StocktonStockton, California
Stockton, California, the seat of San Joaquin County, is the fourth-largest city in the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. With a population of 291,707 at the 2010 census, Stockton ranks as this state's 13th largest city...
, California. Meyer moved to San Francisco in 1902, and Rice was promoted to Meyer's job.
Rice began a personal exploration of scenic California, visiting Yosemite National Park
Yosemite National Park
Yosemite National Park is a United States National Park spanning eastern portions of Tuolumne, Mariposa and Madera counties in east central California, United States. The park covers an area of and reaches across the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountain chain...
in 1901 and Lake Tahoe
Lake Tahoe
Lake Tahoe is a large freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada of the United States. At a surface elevation of , it is located along the border between California and Nevada, west of Carson City. Lake Tahoe is the largest alpine lake in North America. Its depth is , making it the USA's second-deepest...
in 1904. He also visited all of the Spanish missions in California
Spanish missions in California
The Spanish missions in California comprise a series of religious and military outposts established by Spanish Catholics of the Franciscan Order between 1769 and 1823 to spread the Christian faith among the local Native Americans. The missions represented the first major effort by Europeans to...
.
In 1910, Meyer convinced Rice to relocate to the San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
to participate more actively in the Arts and Crafts movement, and Rice obtained a job teaching art for the Alameda public schools
Alameda Unified School District
The Alameda Unified School District serves the city of Alameda, California USA.The school district is a "unified" district , meaning that it includes K-8 schools and high schools in the same jurisdiction. As with all California school districts, it is not a part of the city government of Alameda...
.
He spent the rest of his professional career teaching art in the Alameda and Oakland public schools
Oakland Unified School District
Oakland Unified School District is a public education school district which operates elementary schools , middle schools , and high schools in Oakland, California.-History:...
. He taught drawing and painting, as well as crafts, including metalcraft and leather working. He began freelance writing and illustrating for Sunset Magazine.
In 1913, he studied design with Ralph Johonnot, an associate of Arthur Wesley Dow
Arthur Wesley Dow
Arthur Wesley Dow was an American painter, printmaker, photographer, and influential arts educator....
, who was an early advocate of color block printing in the United States. Rice toured Europe in the summer of 1913, visiting Chartres
Chartres
Chartres is a commune and capital of the Eure-et-Loir department in northern France. It is located southwest of Paris.-Geography:Chartres is built on the left bank of the Eure River, on a hill crowned by its famous cathedral, the spires of which are a landmark in the surrounding country...
, Rothenberg
Rothenberg
Rothenberg is a community in the Odenwaldkreis in Hesse, Germany.-Location:Rothenberg lies at elevations between 200 and 500 m in the southern Odenwald in the Geo-Naturpark Bergstraße-Odenwald, 7 km north of Hirschhorn on the Neckar...
and Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
.
In 1915, he married Susan Steel, and they honeymooned at Lake Tahoe. That same year, the Panama Pacific International Exposition took place in San Francisco, and he was impressed by the Japanese woodblock prints
Woodblock printing in Japan
Woodblock printing in Japan is a technique best known for its use in the ukiyo-e artistic genre; however, it was also used very widely for printing books in the same period. Woodblock printing had been used in China for centuries to print books, long before the advent of movable type, but was only...
he saw there. He resolved to become a woodblock print artist. Instead of following the Japanese team method, where an artist did an original painting, who then turned it over to a team of wood carvers and printers, he decided to take control of the entire creative process himself.
His friend Frederick Meyer had founded the School of the California Guild of Arts and Crafts, originally in Berkeley and later in Oakland. After receiving accreditation, it was renamed the California College of Arts and Crafts. Meyer hired Rice to teach summer classes at his school. In addition, Rice also taught evening extension classes at the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
.
In 1918, Rice had his first major exhibition of wood and linoleum
Linocut
Linocut is a printmaking technique, a variant of woodcut in which a sheet of linoleum is used for the relief surface. A design is cut into the linoleum surface with a sharp knife, V-shaped chisel or gouge, with the raised areas representing a reversal of the parts to show printed...
block prints at the Palace of Fine Arts
Palace of Fine Arts
The Palace of Fine Arts in the Marina District of San Francisco, California, is a monumental structure originally constructed for the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition in order to exhibit works of art presented there. One of only a few surviving structures from the Exposition, it is the only one still...
in San Francisco, which was designed by Bernard Maybeck
Bernard Maybeck
Bernard Ralph Maybeck was a architect in the Arts and Crafts Movement of the early 20th century. He was a professor at University of California, Berkeley...
for the Panama Pacific International Exposition.
Rice wrote two teaching texts, Block Printing in the Schools (1929) and Block Prints: How To Make Them (1941), both published by Bruce Publishing Company.
Rice won the Best Print award at the show of the California Society of Etchers
California Society of Printmakers
California Society of Printmakers is the oldest continuously operating association of printmakers and friends of printmakers in the United States. CSP is a non-profit arts organization with an international membership of print artists and supporters of the art of fine printmaking...
in 1933. Gump's
Gump's
Gump’s is a luxury American home furnishings and home décor retailer. Gump’s was founded in 1861 in San Francisco, California.- History :S & G Gump was founded in 1861 as a mirror and frame shop by Solomon Gump and his brother, Gustav...
in San Francisco was one of his leading dealers. His work was displayed in the printmaker's exhibition at the 1939 New York World's Fair
1939 New York World's Fair
The 1939–40 New York World's Fair, which covered the of Flushing Meadows-Corona Park , was the second largest American world's fair of all time, exceeded only by St. Louis's Louisiana Purchase Exposition of 1904. Many countries around the world participated in it, and over 44 million people...
.
His artistic collaborators and influences included Pedro Lemos, Elizabeth Norton, Roi Partridge, Gustave Baumann
Gustave Baumann
Gustave Baumann was a printmaker and painter, and one of the leading figures of the color woodcut revival in America. His works have been shown at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art, the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC, and the New Mexico Museum of Art...
, Lorenzo P. Latimer, Norma Bassett Hall
Norma Bassett Hall
Norma Bassett Hall , born in 1889 in Halsey, Oregon, was an American printmaker. She was a woodblock printmaker and often depicted landscapes and outdoor scenes.-Education:...
and the sisters Mary & Frances Gearhart.
His work was featured in a one-man show at Villa Montalvo
Villa Montalvo
Villa Montalvo is an Italian Mediterranean style mansion nestled in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains, in Saratoga, California, United States. It was constructed from 1912 to 1914 by California statesman and businessman James Duval Phelan. After Phelan's death, it was donated to the state...
in Saratoga
Saratoga, California
Saratoga is a city in Santa Clara County, California, USA. It is located on the west side of the Santa Clara Valley, directly west of San Jose, in the San Francisco Bay area. The population was 29,926 at the 2010 census....
, California in 1959.
William S. Rice died at his home in Oakland
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
, California in 1963.
Legacy
In 1978 - 1979, the Smithsonian American Art MuseumSmithsonian American Art Museum
The Smithsonian American Art Museum is a museum in Washington, D.C. with an extensive collection of American art.Part of the Smithsonian Institution, the museum has a broad variety of American art that covers all regions and art movements found in the United States...
held an exhibition called American Color Woodcuts: The Years of Transition, that featured the works of 40 artists including Rice.
His works are in the collections of the California College of the Arts
California College of the Arts
California College of the Arts , founded in 1907, is known for its broad, interdisciplinary programs in art, design, architecture, and writing. It has two campuses, one in Oakland and one in San Francisco, California, USA...
, the National Museum of American Art, the Boston Public Library
Boston Public Library
The Boston Public Library is a municipal public library system in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was the first publicly supported municipal library in the United States, the first large library open to the public in the United States, and the first public library to allow people to...
, the New York Public Library
New York Public Library
The New York Public Library is the largest public library in North America and is one of the United States' most significant research libraries...
, the California State Library
California State Library
The California State Library collects, preserves, generates and disseminates a wide array of information. It was founded in 1850 by the California State Legislature. Today, it is the central reference and research library for state government and the Legislature. The California State Library...
, the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
, the Achenbach Foundation for the Graphic Arts, the Elvehjem Museum , the Oakland Museum of California
Oakland Museum of California
Oakland Museum of California or Oakland Museum is a museum dedicated to the art, history, and natural science of California located in Oakland, California....
, the Fitzwilliam Museum
Fitzwilliam Museum
The Fitzwilliam Museum is the art and antiquities museum of the University of Cambridge, located on Trumpington Street opposite Fitzwilliam Street in central Cambridge, England. It receives around 300,000 visitors annually. Admission is free....
. and the Hood Museum of Art
Hood Museum of Art
The Hood Museum of Art is a museum in Hanover, New Hampshire, USA. Dating back to 1772, the museum is owned and operated by Dartmouth College and is connected to the Hopkins Center for the Arts. The current building, designed by Charles Willard Moore and Chad Flloyd, opened in the fall of 1985. It...
at Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
.