1930s CALIFORNIA Landscape AQUATINT Etching ORPHA MAE KLINKER Original signed For Sale

Original aquatint etching titled “Winter Touches the Desert” by California artist Orpha Mae Klinker. A finely executed desert landscape featuring Joshua trees with the San Jacinto mountain range rendered in atmospheric tonal planes. Beautifully Framed and Matted.

“Winter Touches the Desert” aquatint etching by noted California artist Orpha Mae Klinker, recognized for her portraits of prominent cultural figures and evocative scenes of the Southern California desert landscape. This work demonstrates her command of aquatint technique, particularly in the layered tonal gradations of the San Jacinto Mountains behind iconic Joshua trees.

The composition reflects the early California desert aesthetic that emerged in the 1930s when Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley became a subject for regional artists. Klinker’s use of aquatint produces soft atmospheric depth while maintaining crisp line work in the desert vegetation.

The print is pencil signed and titled by the artist and presented in a wood frame with double matting.

• Artist: Orpha Mae Klinker (1891–1964)

• Title: Winter Touches the Desert

• Medium: Aquatint etching, ink on paper

• Date: Circa 1939

• Signed: Pencil signed lower right

• Inscription: Titled and labeled in pencil

• Region: Southern California desert landscape

Condition

• Print appears in good condition with light toning consistent with age

• Matted and framed under glass. WE NOTE THAT : We have inadvertently photographed with a rectangular reflection of our camera devise in the image. See bottom off center section in some images has this reflection.

• Matting tightly adhered; print not examined outside mat

• Plate image area size: 7.5 in x 9.5 in

• Framed size: 13 in x 15 in

• Wood frame with double mat

Artist Background

• Orpha Mae Klinker was born in Missouri in 1891 and became active in Southern California art circles.

• Maintained a studio in Los Angeles and worked extensively in portraiture and California landscape subjects.

• Known for portraits of public figures including actors, military leaders, and cultural personalities during the 1930s–1950s.

• Her desert works frequently depict Palm Springs and the San Jacinto mountain region.

• Works appear in regional California collections and period exhibitions of American printmaking.

Carefully custom packed and ships within one business day upon receipt of payment.

Orpha Mae Klinker aquatint etching Winter Touches the Desert California desert print Joshua tree San Jacinto mountains Palm Springs desert landscape vintage California printmaking WPA era American artist signed etching California regional art desert landscape aquatint print