Whittemore, Margaret “Old Mill - Valley Falls"

Margaret Whittemore. (1897-1983) “Old Mill - Valley Falls.” 

Mid 1930s. 8 x 10 (image) plus margins.  Color woodblock. Titled and signed in pencil.  Old hinge residue at four corners well away from image, else excellent condition.

Margaret Evelyn Whittemore was born in Topeka, Kansas, studied at Washburn College where her parents both taught, and studied graphic arts at the Art Institute of Chicago and Taos Art Colony in New Mexico.  She was an author and illustrator in the 1930s and 40s. Whittemore worked as an artist in the Works Progress Administration museum extension program and created a series of prints depicting Kansas landmarks, of which this is one. She was a member of the Prairie Print Makers.  Her works are in the collections of the University of Kansas-Lawrence, Clay Center Library-Wichita, Kansas State Historical Society, and the Topeka Public Library.  Ref.: Who Was Who in American Art, p. 677.

This print shows a historical building in Kansas and reflects an appreciation for preserving the past as part of a cultural heritage. 

Accompanying text: “A water mill still in use in Valley Falls was built in 1855 by a Polish immigrant, J. M. Piazzek, in 1855.  While starting as a saw mill, the plant soon developed into a grist mill and later added a cotton gin and machinery for making woolens and cotton.  These mills were run by water power from turbine wheels, all the mills being connected by cables.”