‘WHEN AUTUMN IS HERE’ BY HOVSEP PUSHMAN (1930)

A framed offset lithograph after a still life by Armenian-American artist HOVSEP PUSHMAN (1877–1966). A small vessel holding a wilting rose is depicted alongside a Chinese figurine against the backdrop of a religious mural. The differently shaped and sized objects are balanced within an open-air atmosphere, cultivating an ideal of beauty in impressionistic color. Much here is typical of Pushman’s work: Oriental mysticism, the suggestion of allegory, and an aura of nocturnal intimacy. The signature is printed in plate at the bottom right. Incidental to its artistic merits, the original played an important role in US copyright law. Upon its completion, Pushman turned it over to Grand Central Art Galleries to broker a sale—without negotiating further reproduction rights. It was sold to the University of Illinois; the school in turn sold said rights to the New York Graphic Society. Pushman sued for an injunction in 1940. The controversial dispute would eventually—some ten years after his d