ERNEST BORN (1898 - 1992)

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Ernest Born was a famous and influential American architect, designer, and artist based in California. Born studied architecture at the University of California, Berkeley, graduating from the school of Architecture in 1922. After graduation he traveled to Europe on a Guggenheim Fellowship, then returned to UC Berkeley earning a master's degree in 1923, with a thesis on the relation of painting to architecture. He worked for prominent San Francisco architects such as John W. Reid, Jr., John Galen Howard, and George Kelham between 1923 and 1928. He is also known for the signage design on San Francisco's BART rail system. His works were displayed at the Golden Gate Exposition and held in numerous major galleries in San Francisco & New York, and several significant private collections. This RARE, original, striking lithograph depicting the hardship and struggles of Wall Street bankers during the Great Depression, produced in 1930.  It was part of a suite of 15 completed images are New York City subjects originally contracted by a London art house; but, due to the 1930's depression, the transaction was not completed and the project remained in the Born family archives. The original edition was 20 prints of each image, of which five to 13 of each image survive. What's more, this is the ONLY series of lithographs Born produced early in his career.