Featured Benjamin Chee Chee print

Discussion in 'Art' started by Boland, Nov 10, 2025.

  1. Boland

    Boland Well-Known Member

    IMG_9281.jpeg IMG_9280.jpeg IMG_9279.jpeg IMG_9282.jpeg IMG_9283.jpeg Hi all,Iam thinking this could possibly be one of the initial limited prints that was created of Benjamin’s work while he was still alive.

    Benjamin himself started with limited prints of his original artwork in the early to mid-70’s. However after his death in 1977 his work was widely mass reproduced and copied (on all kinds of things including cups and postcards)

    The original Friends (of 3 Canadian geese)artwork is a lithographic print from 1974 (original work was signed and dated) William Derry was a prominent art dealer and framer in Cape Town and was established in 1892 and very active in the mid-20th century.

    It is unclear exactly as to when William Derry stop trading but I understand it could possibly be in the 70’s or so (but I can’t confirm this)

    So do you agree that this could be one of the initial limited prints created by Benjamin himself while he was still alive? The print size is 15,5 x 23cm. Thanks for any comments.
     
    Last edited: Nov 10, 2025
    J Dagger, Bronwen, Roaring20s and 4 others like this.
  2. Boland

    Boland Well-Known Member

    I now read that a company called E&S Morris also traded as William
    Derry (so I don’t know) The frame and label does however look around the 70’s to me (or would you think 80’s)
     
    Last edited: Nov 10, 2025
    Bronwen, wlwhittier and Any Jewelry like this.
  3. Boland

    Boland Well-Known Member

    The key is obviously to try and establish exactly when William Derry stopped trading. Anyway it is a cool little artwork.
     
    Bronwen, wlwhittier and Any Jewelry like this.
  4. Any Jewelry

    Any Jewelry Well-Known Member

    Agree. Typical of his elegant, minimalist style. Sometimes he used even fewer lines, still capturing the essence of the birds.
     
  5. Any Jewelry

    Any Jewelry Well-Known Member

  6. Boland

    Boland Well-Known Member

    True,I looked at some of his other works. I also like how the ‘body’ lines overlap and ‘unite’
     
    Bronwen, wlwhittier and Any Jewelry like this.
  7. Boland

    Boland Well-Known Member

  8. Any Jewelry

    Any Jewelry Well-Known Member

    True friends, they blend, so to speak.;)
     
  9. wlwhittier

    wlwhittier Well-Known Member

    I find it odd that renown William Derry framed these Friends slightly out of plumb; the horizontal line supporting the geese is higher on the left end, by enough to notice by the most casual observer.
    Of course, there may have been another cause for that, post-framing...but that, too, calls into question the quality of the print placement vis a vis securing it behind the mat. Something a bit strange, seems to me.
     
    Bronwen and Boland like this.
  10. Boland

    Boland Well-Known Member

    Noted. Good observation and interesting comments. Thanks
     
    Bronwen and wlwhittier like this.
  11. Any Jewelry

    Any Jewelry Well-Known Member

    More likely pre-framing.;) I have a few Canadian First Nation prints, and bought them already in those double two-tone mats, in plastic sleeves. All that needed to be done was put them in a frame. I guess that was also the case with this one.
     
    Bronwen, wlwhittier and Boland like this.
  12. komokwa

    komokwa The Truth is out there...!

    SIZE of the image please !
    6 x 9...... and u won't like my answer
     
    Boland likes this.
  13. Boland

    Boland Well-Known Member

    Give the size. Much smaller than the ‘original’… Comment away,all answers are welcome. Just want to really get an idea of when this print was produced.. Plus I paid less than $1 for it so no real wrong answers here :)
     
    Bronwen and wlwhittier like this.
  14. komokwa

    komokwa The Truth is out there...!

  15. komokwa

    komokwa The Truth is out there...!

    ....sorry....:(

    the originals were made in 1974
     
    Any Jewelry, Bronwen and Boland like this.
  16. Boland

    Boland Well-Known Member

    Ok. So an art card. Thanks for the comment and information. On the plus side framed for less than a $ is
    still bargain. So this could not have been printed and framed before 1980. So than must mean William Derry must have still been trading.
     
    Any Jewelry and Bronwen like this.
  17. Boland

    Boland Well-Known Member

    No worries! Yes,I read the original was produced in 1974.
     
    Any Jewelry, Bronwen and komokwa like this.
  18. komokwa

    komokwa The Truth is out there...!

    the mat's brown hue shows it's leaching acid on to the card....... there's not much value to be had there......

    again....... sorry !
    but........ it's still an inexpensive lesson..;):happy:
     
    Any Jewelry, Bronwen and Boland like this.
  19. Boland

    Boland Well-Known Member

    The best kind of lesson :)
     
    Any Jewelry, komokwa and Bronwen like this.
Draft saved Draft deleted
Similar Threads: Benjamin Chee
Forum Title Date
Art 1780 Engraving of Benjamin Franklin Jan 19, 2022
Art Signed cat print in cheesy frame any ideas on artist? Sep 22, 2022
Art Cheeky Monkey Aug 18, 2020

Share This Page