"THE BEGGAR'S RAGS, FLUTTERING IN AIR DOES TO RAGS THE HEAVENS TEAR," plate 182, "THE QUESTIONER, WHO SITS SO SLY SHALL NEVER KNOW HOW TO REPLY," plate

Leonard Baskin was an American sculptor and printmaker whose work ranged from naturalistic to grotesque, often featuring bloated or hybrid human-animal forms cast in wood, limestone, and bronze. He founded Gehenna Press in 1942, one of America's first fine arts presses, which paired bold black-and-white prints by Baskin alongside poets including Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes. His monumental bronze sculpture The Funeral Cortege is installed at the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial in Washington, D.C. Called a Sculptor of Stark Memorials by the New York Times, Baskin's work combined graphic intensity with figurative drama across multiple scales and media.

New Brunswick, United States