Book Description

Fifty years in the making, Landfall Press: Five Decades tells the story of one of America's most renowned printer-publishers. It also tells the story of its remarkable founder, Jack Lemon, whose half-century journey to build a business predicated on collaborative relationships is part biography and part business plan laid bare. The book is based on interviews with Lemon, which provide personal and often profound insights into his journey and Landfall's history. Lemon's passion for printmaking, especially lithography, was ignited during his studies at the Kansas City Art Institute (KCAI) and further kindled during his training at the Tamarind Institute of Lithography. Soon after completing his Tamarind training, Lemon founded and directed two celebrated lithography workshops at KCAI and the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, respectively. The opportunity to establish his own printshop presented itself in 1970. That year, gallerist Allan Frumkin convinced Lemon to open his own shop in Chicago, for which Frumkin would serve as backer. Lemon agreed, and Landfall Press was born.Over the next fifty years, Landfall Press would go on to collaborate with a wide array of established and emerging artists, including: Vito Acconci, Terry Allen, Robert Arneson, Roger Brown, Judy Chicago, Christo, Chuck Close, Robert Cottingham, Lesley Dill, James Drake, Peregrine Honig, Tom Huck, Luis Jiménez, Allen Jones, Ellen Lanyon, Claes Oldenburg, Dennis Oppenheim, Ed Paschke, Philip Pearlstein, Jeanette Pasin Sloan, Pat Steir, Kara Walker, H. C. Westermann, and William T. Wiley. These collaborations resulted in some 3,500 unique projects in lithography, etching, woodcut, and photogravure, encompassing not only individual prints but also books, three-dimensional multiples, and even music publishing. Uniting this diverse output is Landfall's unique commitment to collaboration, innovation, and excellence--in Lemon's words, "the Landfall way."Featuring hundreds of illustrations, including many previously unpublished workshop photographs, Landfall Press: Five Decades is the definitive account of Landfall and its significant collaborations with artists whose prints, multiples, and editions have come to define the art of contemporary printmaking. A traveling exhibition is being held in conjunction with the book, beginning at the Milwaukee Art Museum in 2019 and concluding in 2025.