David Weidman (1921-2014) American, Signed 1960s Silkscreen Prints. Both in green tones. The lighter colored one displays a Cathedral and is titled so in pencil bottom middle. The name and date '63 is in print bottom right, with a pencil signature underneath. The number "E-150" is written in pencil bottom left. The darker one displays various birds in a similar cartoonish style, with heavy Aztec influences. The name and date '65 are in print vertically bottom right. Signed by Dorothy Weidman, his wife, bottom right, with an indistinct personalization from her on the back as well. Titled "Speculative Birds" in pencil bottom middle, with the number "E-95" in pencil bottom left. Both unframed. 

Condition: Tears to edges of prints, some discoloration, but overall very good. 

Size: 21 1/2 x 35 in. 

David Weidman was born on June 28th, 1921 in Los Angeles, California. He initially attended Garfield High School, but transferred to Manual Arts High School to focus on an art career. He received a scholarship to Otis Art Institute, but never attended because of the outbreak of World War II, which led to his enlistment in the United States Navy. He used the GI Bill to enroll at Jepson Art Institute following the war. He met his future wife, Dorothy, at Jepson, where she was a silkscreen instructor. The couple married in 1953. Weidman began his career with animator John Hubley, then became a background artist and painter at United Productions of America. He is credited with helping UPA develop the “distinctive modern style” which became a hallmark of the animation studio’s productions. His television series and special credits with UPA animation included The Famous Adventures of Mr. Magoo and The Gerald McBoing-Boing Show, and Weidman also worked on television shorts for Crusader Rabbit, Popeye, and Fractured Fairy Tales. David Weidman briefly left animation to focus on silkscreening after becoming frustrated with a group-centered animation process. Weidman developed a blotting process to create original works using varying degrees of transparency. His prints often mimic the backdrops he painted for 1960s era animated cartoons. He opened a small gallery and workshop on La Cienega Boulevard in Los Angeles and quickly developed a strong corporate clientele, who used his prints in hotels and other public buildings. However, he disliked having to tailor his work to the dictates of their tastes, and his printing shop gradually transformed into a custom framing business. In order to make ends meet he frequently returned to animation, working on Wacky Races and Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines for Hanna-Barbera and returned to UPA to work on Uncle Sam Magoo (1970), the last Mr. Magoo television special. While he continued to produce posters and ceramics for decades, Weidman stopped creating silkscreen prints around 1980 due to the work-intensive nature of the process. He returned to silkscreens briefly in the late 2000s again when his work was rediscovered, thanks to its use in the hit television series Mad Men. Weidman died of congestive heart failure at his home in the Highland Park neighborhood of Los Angeles on August 6th, 2014. In 2010 the Los Angeles Times referred to Weidman as possibly “the most famous unknown artist,” and his prints are now highly sought and appreciated for their impact on design and art in the mid century era.

Tears to edges of prints, some discoloration, but overall very good.