“I had never seen any [prints] in which the action of skiing was expressed. So this became my goal... I wished to communicate these feelings to others.” F. B. Taylor

This is an extraordinary opportunity to purchase 3 of the 29 different ski subjects comprising Fred Taylor’s Ski Series produced between 1932 and 1937. 28 are engravings, original drypoint etchings, and one is a wood block print. The wood block print, Ski Runner / Slalom Racer, offered here, is the only work Taylor did in this medium.

One can reasonably be described as among the early significant Canadian graphic works devoted specifically to modern sport, and possibly among the earliest Canadian etching series devoted to skiing. While not necessarily the first Canadian etching to depict sport, the series is among the earliest sustained Canadian printmaking projects devoted to a modern athletic subject—particularly significant for its direct treatment of downhill skiing and bodily movement.

In his autobiographical notes, while he was travelling in Europe in 1934, art galleries of stature, including London’s venerable Colnagi’s, successfully offered his ski scenes for sale.

In Taylor’s own words, “A large part of my life was skiing, and I wished to try to express my feelings about the sport. I had seen landscape paintings, drawings, and some prints in which skiers were standing about to establish a scale and accent design, but I had never seen any in which the action of skiing was expressed. So this became my goal. I knew how it felt to go fast on skis, how to control my speed and how to come to a stop in terms of the skiing techniques of the time, and I wished to communicate these feelings to others.”