Gladys Wilkins Murphy
1907 – 1985

All of the Gladys Wilkins Murphy block prints were originally $350 each, now available for $175 matted.

Gladys Wilkins Murphy, a talented yet relatively unknown artist, left behind a legacy of work illustrating the advancement of color printmaking in the region. As a student and faculty member at the Rhode Island School of Design, Murphy flourished under the tutelage of well-known printmaking pioneer Eliza Gardiner. During her student years black and white prints were popular among early twentieth century collectors however color woodcuts were just starting to garner attention. It was the formation of the California Printmakers, Southern Printmakers, Northwest Printmakers and the Philadelphia Print Club, which introduced and promoted woodcuts with an entirely new and exciting perspective. By 1932 Murphy proved to be no longer the student learning from her mentors when the Print Makers Society of California selected the woodcut “Shadow” for the Fifty Color Prints of the Year. This distinction established and validated the young artists style of printmaking recognizing her talent for high-keyed color and precise carving.

Murphy concentrated on printmaking at the Rhode Island School of Design in the Thirties and Forties. After 1946, she retired to Rockport; Massachusetts with her husband Herbert A. Murphy to open her own studio-gallery on King Street. Noteworthy exhibits spanning her career included the American Block Print Calendar of 1938, the Providence Art Club, South County Association, Providence Water Color Club, Brown University, Art Alliance in Philadelphia, Boston Art Club, California Printmakers, Newport Art Association, Rockport Art Association, National Academy of Design and the Library of Congress. Murphy can be recognized today as contributing to the vibrant printmaking scene in Providence and representing Rhode Island talent in a national forum.