For Richard from Cliff, H. C. Westermann

Episode 8 Oct-2004, Stephen Goddard, Senior Curator, Prints and Drawings I’m David Cateforis with another art minute from the Spencer Museum of Art. In October, 1977, artist H.C. Westermann sent a beautifully hand-crafted box to Kansas City sculptor, Richard Hollander. Westermann had a profound love for tools and materials, and his box was an expression of thanks for some large brass screws that Hollander had sent to him. But this was no ordinary box. It is carved from pine boards with perfectly fashioned dovetail joints, and the lid slides out from a slot like the box for a scientific instrument. And the lid is not just a lid-its underside is carved so that it can be inked and printed. The woodcut print made from this lid shows one of Westermann’s “Death Ships”-images that summarize disturbing memories of his World War II service in the South Pacific. In the sky above the Death Ship is the dedication “For Richard.” This box, the box it was shipped in, the one impression of the woodcut printed from the lid, and a letter from Westermann to Hollander are now in the Spencer Museum, and can be seen upon request in the department of prints and drawings. Surely it is an exceptional example of art in the service of friendship. With thanks to Stephen Goddard for his text, from the Spencer Museum of Art, I’m David Cateforis.