John Taylor Arms

John Taylor Arms studied at Princeton University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Places of work recorded in the authority are Lake Como. Work by John Taylor Arms is recorded in the collections of National Gallery of Victoria, Art Institute of Chicago, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, National Gallery of Canada and Museum of Modern Art.

• Name — John Taylor Arms • Born — 19 April 1887 • Birthplace — Washington, D.C. • Died — 15 October 1953 • Place of death — Fairfield, Connecticut • Education — Princeton University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology • Field — printmaker, etcher • Illustration — On Lake Como, Number Two, 1919, color etching and aquatint

Arms was born in Washington, DC in 1887. He studied law at Princeton University, transferring to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, to study architecture, graduating in 1912. After serving as an officer in the United States Navy during World War I, he devoted himself full-time to etching. He published his first original etchings in 1919. His initial subject was the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City near which he worked. Arms developed a successful career as a graphic artist in the 1920s and 1930s, specializing in series of etchings of Gothic churches and cathedrals in France and Italy. In addition to medieval subjects, Arms made a series of prints of American cities. He used sewing needles and magnifying glasses to get a fine level of detail. A member of many printmaking societies, Arms served as president of the Society of American Graphic Artists. An educator, Arms wrote the Handbook of Print Making and Print Makers (1934) and did numerous demonstrations and lectures. Arms was elected into the National Academy of Design as an Associate member in 1930, and became a full member in 1933. His work was also part of the painting event in the art competition at the 1932 Summer Olympics. Arms died in Fairfield, Connecticut in 1953. In 2011, 54 of Arms’ prints and drawing were shown at the National Gallery of Art’s exhibit The Gothic Spirit of John Taylor Arms; the works were drawn from the Gallery’s collection.