BERTHA LUM by Mary Gravalos and...

BERTHA LUM by Mary Gravalos and Carol Pulin; HELEN HYDE by Tim Mason and Lynn Mason (Smithsonian: $19.95 each, illustrated). The most recent entries in the “American Print-Makers” series are devoted to a pair of artists whose work is beginning to enjoy a revived interest after decades of neglect. Superficially, the careers of Lum and Hyde appear similar--both women worked in Japan, China and the United States; both were influenced by the Japanese Ukiyo-e masters; both were widely exhibited during their lifetimes. Born into a wealthy San Francisco family, Hyde (1868-1916) became one of the first American artists to create tinted etching by hand-rubbing the plates with colored inks (a technique called a la poupee ) . Although her work was popular at the turn of the century, the self-conscious exoticism and Edwardian sentimentality of her studies of Oriental and Latin American children is likely to remind modern viewers of the saccharine excesses of Hummel figurines. Lum (1869-1954) was a more gifted graphic artist. Her subtle use of shading and atmospheric effects reveals the influence of the Japanese wood-block masters, especially Hiroshige: The famous print “Point Lobos” (1920) suggests a marriage of Oriental techniques and Western subject matter. Lum also created illustrations for a number of magazines and children’s books, combining Japonism landscapes with intricate, Art Nouveau figures reminiscent of Rackham and Dulac.