Description
The following historical information is included as text in the upper left of the map in a scroll held by the talons of an eagle:
Fire Island. By Act of Congress a National Seashore to preserve a remaining natural shore area on the east coast … Less than 1 mile wide, it stretches to a finger like length of 32 miles. In 1700 the seas broke through at Fire Island inlet separating the “island” from the Great South Beach Barrier. Since 1858, many ships have been guided safety by the Fire Island light house. During ravaging storms many other ships, men, and cargoes were lost. Perhaps even now the treasure chests of early sailing ships lie beneath the sands of the “Islands” beaches. Weathered timbers of early wrecks are often uncovered by the shifting sand during southeasters.
Dan Welden was born in 1948 in the Bronx, New York and was raised in Babylon, Long Island. His artistic ambitions came to him at an early age, and he continued to pursue them throughout college and graduate school at Adelphi University, earning a B.A. in 1964 and an M.A. in Art Education in 1967, thereafter working as an art teacher. In 1965, he was commissioned by Bill Irvine, a publisher in Bayport, Long Island, to make the offered pictorial map of Fire Island.. He subsequently created and self published a pictorial map of Eastern Long Island. The technical creativity involved in Welden pictorial maps is echoed through the rest of Welden’s career. In 1970 he developed a new printmaking technique known as solarplate etching. Throughout his career, Welden has collaborated with many well-known artists including Willem and Elaine de Kooning, Jimmy Ernst, Dan Flavin, Esteban Vicente, David Salle, Eric Fischl, among others. Welden’s work has been widely showcased around the world including in Europe, China, Australia, New Zealand, and Peru. Additionally, many examples of his work are in collections across the country including Amity Art Foundation, Baltimore Museum of Art, Portland Museum of Art, and Temple University.
Condition: Generally very good with the usual overall light toning, wear handling. Minor original excess of darker blue paint mid right center, as printed, unobtrusive.
References
“About” Dan Welden. https://danwelden.com/ (28 January 2025).
“Dan Welden Artist and Master Printer.” East Hampton Star. https://www.easthamptonstar.com/archive/dan-welden-artist-and-master-printer (28 January 2025).
