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Anton Schutz Etchings

An inventory of his papers at Syracuse University


Finding aid created by: DTF
Date: 23 Nov 2021



Biographical History

Anton Schutz (1894-1977) was a German-American artist and founder of the New York Graphic Society.

Schutz was born 1894 in Berndorf, Germany. He attended the University of Munich where he received a dual degree in mechanical engineering and architecture. Despite his education in engineering and architecture, he turned to art, and received a degree from the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich, Germany. He emigrated to New York in 1924.

Shortly after arriving in the United States, Schutz met Joseph Pennell. Pennell, the leading printmaker at the time, was impressed with Schutz's etching abilities, and appointed Schutz as the monitor of his etching class at The Art Students League. In 1925 Schutz was commissioned by The New York Times to make etchings of New York City and other American cities. Schutz's previous education as an engineer served him well when it came to drawing accurate etches of landmark buildings, and his etchings were very popular. In 1928 and 1929 Schutz travelled to Russia, Japan, and China, and the etches he drew while he was there were published in The New York Times and New York Herald Tribune.

Despite Schutz's success as an artist during the 1920s, the Great Depression negatively affected the art market in the early 1930s. Schutz stopped making etchings, which were not very profitable, and instead shifted his focus to producing high quality color reproductions of paintings from museums throughout the world. In 1925, Schutz founded New York Graphic Society that distributed his and other artists' work, and he now utilized his company to distribute the reproductions. His business thrived, and the New York Graphic Society became one of the largest reproduction companies in the world. Ultimately, Schutz's career as an etch artist only lasted twelve years.

Schutz died on October 6, 1977 in New York City.


Scope and Contents of the Collection

The Anton Schutz Etchings consists of five matted original etchings of New York City buildings and street scenes.


Arrangement of the Collection

The collection is arranged alphabetically by title of etching.


Restrictions

Access Restrictions:

The majority of our archival and manuscript collections are housed offsite and require advance notice for retrieval. Researchers are encouraged to contact us in advance concerning the collection material they wish to access for their research.

Use Restrictions:

Written permission must be obtained from SCRC and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.


Related Material

Two books in the collection were sent to cataloging.


Subject Headings

Persons

Schutz, Anton.

Subjects

Architecture -- United States.
Historic buildings -- Pictorial works.

Places

New York (N.Y.)

Genres and Forms

Etchings (prints)

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

Anton Schutz Etchings,
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

Gift of William Gaske, 2021.


Table of Contents

Etchings


Inventory