Holly EJ Black's 'The Story of Printmaking' Traces Art's Democratic Medium
Holly EJ Black's book 'The Story of Printmaking: A Global History of Art' (2026), published by Yale University Press, offers a global survey of printmaking as a democratizing force. Black begins not with Gutenberg but with the Diamond Sutra (868 CE), the oldest printed book, discovered in the Mogao Grottoes in China's Gobi Desert. The book covers figures from Albrecht Dürer and Rembrandt to Katsushika Ōi and José Guadalupe Posada, and includes contemporary examples like Shepard Fairey's Obama posters and Paula Rego's abortion etching series. Black, who studied at the London College of Printing, emphasizes technical processes from woodblock to aquatint. The book ends with Julie Mehretu's 'Six Bardos' aquatints, inspired by the Mogao Grottoes.
Key facts
- Holly EJ Black's 'The Story of Printmaking: A Global History of Art' was published in 2026 by Yale University Press.
- The book begins with the Diamond Sutra (11 May 868 CE), the oldest printed and dated book, found in the Mogao Grottoes.
- Black studied printmaking at the London College of Printing.
- The book covers artists including Albrecht Dürer, Rembrandt, William Hogarth, Francisco Goya, Utagawa Hiroshige, Katsushika Hokusai, and Katsushika Ōi.
- Contemporary examples include Shepard Fairey's Obama street art and Paula Rego's 'Abortion' etching series (2007).
- The book concludes with Julie Mehretu's 'Six Bardos' (2018) color aquatints.
- Black includes a glossary and focuses on works on paper.
- The book is described as an introduction that resists being comprehensive.
Entities
Artists
- Holly EJ Black
- Albrecht Dürer
- Rembrandt van Rijn
- William Hogarth
- Francisco Goya
- Utagawa Hiroshige
- Katsushika Hokusai
- Katsushika Ōi
- Max Klinger
- Edvard Munch
- José Guadalupe Posada
- Frida Kahlo
- Diego Rivera
- Shepard Fairey
- Paula Rego
- Julie Mehretu
- Robert Blackburn
- Mary Cassatt
- Robert Rauschenberg
- Sin Wai Kin
Institutions
- Yale University Press
- London College of Printing
- Library of Congress
- New York Public Library
- Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Mogao Grottoes
- UNESCO
- Disney/Pixar
- Gemini G.E.L.
- Soft Opening, London
Locations
- China
- Gobi Desert
- Mogao Grottoes
- New York
- Portugal
- Mexico
- Japan
- Germany
- Ethiopia
- United States