This is a soft-ground etching by Ira Moskowitz. It depicts a cart with two horses. The etching technique creates a softer, indistinct, impressionist quality to the image. Although not titled, this likely is a Western scene created during his time in Taos. The muted colors and earth tones evoke the desert southwest. The etching is in very good condition. There is some plate toning but no other issues with staining, fixing, paper loss, or tears. It is a full, free sheet. It's a crisp impression. The plate size is given above. 18 x 15 inches. It is signed and dated Ira Moskowitz '69 lower right. The edition 6/150 is given in pencil lower left. There is also a monogram, IM, in the plate lower left just below the horse's head. An excellent example of his Western work.

Ira Moskowitz (1912-2001). Moskowitz was born in Poland to a family with a long rabbinical heritage. The family move to Prague when he was two but then he moved with his family to the United States as an adolescent. His primary artistic study was at the Art Students League. He traveled early in his career including time in France and Israel, but ultimately settled in New Mexico from 1949 to the early 1960s. After that he split time between New York and Paris. He talent was recognized and resulted in numerous awards, most notably a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1945. While his art covered a broad range of subjects, there were three that he was most know for, Music and Musicians, Judaica and Jewish religious ceremonies (reflecting his struggles between choosing a life as an artist rather than a rabbi), and Native American ceremonies. The latter was featured in a 1949 book, Patterns and Ceremonials of the Indians of the Southwest with text by John Collier. Moskowitz created over 100 illustrations and lithographs for this book. His work is included in the Library of Congress, Museum of Modern Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Brooklyn Museum, Whitney Museum, National Gallery of Art, Houston Museum, Albany Institute of History and Art, and Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris.