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Van Every/Smith Galleries at Davidson College

Van Every/Smith Galleries at Davidson College

Davidson, NORTH CAROLINA

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  • Artist: Will Petersen (American, 1928-1994)

American master painter, printer, and cartoonist. He was also a poet, an abstract expressionist, and a Beat Era painter born in Chicago, Illinois. He acted in Japanese B-movies and was the owner of Evanston's Plucked Chicken Press, which he started with his third wife. In 1952, he was drafted by the US Army and sent to Korea, then to Hokkaido, Japan. He learned the art of calligraphy under Master Tahaa and fell in love with ancient Noh plays, as he continued to perform in a troupe while teaching English at Japanese colleges and Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. He then moved back to United States to teach drawing at Ohio State University with his family. After divorcing his Japanese wife, he married Cynthia Archer, a printmaking graduate from Wester Virginia University, where he taught as the head of the printmaking department. In his remaining years until his death in 1994, he solely focused on his own works.

They Talk of Sand, of Gray by Will Petersen
  • Will Petersen
  • They Talk of Sand, of Gray, 1977
Lithograph on paper
18.125 x 24.125 in
(46.04 x 61.28 cm)
Witness by Will Petersen
  • Will Petersen
  • Witness, 1983
Engraving on paper
15.5 x 15 in
(39.37 x 38.1 cm)
Hat at Dusk by Will Petersen
  • Will Petersen
  • Hat at Dusk, 1983
Lithograph on paper
15 x 22.833 in
(38.1 x 58.0 cm)
Scent of the Centaur by Will Petersen
  • Will Petersen
  • Scent of the Centaur, 1976
Lithograph on paper
14.6875 x 22.875 in
(37.31 x 58.1 cm)
Double Witness by Will Petersen
  • Will Petersen
  • Double Witness, 1983
Engraving on paper
19 x 14.9375 in
(48.26 x 37.94 cm)
In the Woods, a Glow by Will Petersen
  • Will Petersen
  • In the Woods, a Glow, 1977
Lithograph on paper
18.5 x 10.8125 in
(46.99 x 27.46 cm)
Musing by Will Petersen
  • Will Petersen
  • Musing, 1983
Lithograph on paper
15.0625 x 19.125 in
(38.26 x 48.58 cm)
Thamyris by Will Petersen
  • Will Petersen
  • Thamyris, 1983
Lithograph on paper
15 x 19.125 in
(38.1 x 48.58 cm)
Untitled by Will Petersen
  • Will Petersen
  • Untitled, 1969
Lithograph on paper
29.375 x 38.125 x 1.5 in
(74.61 x 96.84 x 3.81 cm)
Dancer Sculptor by Will Petersen
  • Will Petersen
  • Dancer Sculptor, 1983
Lithograph on paper
15 x 22.3125 in
(38.1 x 56.67 cm)
Desert Dancer by Will Petersen
  • Will Petersen
  • Desert Dancer, 1983
Lithograph on paper
15 x 22.375 in
(38.1 x 56.83 cm)
They Watch, Wait by Will Petersen
  • Will Petersen
  • They Watch, Wait, 1976
Lithograph on paper
22 x 29.75 in
(55.88 x 75.57 cm)