Byron Randall (1918-1999) - Linocut - Diabolical Machine (for the Communist Manifesto In Pictures) 1947 - AP1562
Signed Byron 1947. #39. An early masterwork. (#38 is held in the collection of the Minneapolis Institute of Art.)
Measures 12" x 18".
An avowed leftist, Byron Randall produced Diabolical Machine as a commissioned illustration for the 1948 Communist Manifesto in Pictures, a pamphlet published by the International Book Store of San Francisco commemorating the centennial of Marxism. Highlighting bourgeoisie repression of the proletariat, Randall’s illustration depicts several ghoulish capitalists gleefully cranking the handle of a printing press as it expels paper currency along with the crushed bodies of a man and a woman representing the working class. Randall originally issued his illustration as a limited edition linoleum cut (seen here), which was subsequently reduced in size for inclusion in the pamphlet. In addition to Randall’s linoleum cut, the pamphlet featured original illustrations by six other artists associated with San Francisco’s Graphic Arts Workshop, a printmaking collective Randall founded in 1947 to emulate the Taller de Gráfica Popular, a prominent print workshop based in Mexico City that espoused progressive political views.
We will ship the print rolled in a tube unless you wish us to ship it flat, which is more expensive. Contact us for a quote.
Byron Randall (October 23, 1918 – August 11, 1999) was an American West Coast artist, well known for his expressionist paintings and printmaking. A contemporary of artists Pablo O'Higgins, Anton Refregier, Robert P. McChesney, Emmy Lou Packard (his second wife), and Pele de Lappe (his final companion), Randall shared their left wing politics while exploring different techniques and styles, including a vivid use of color and line.
