The Signature of Richard E. Bishop

The signature history of Richard E. Bishop had some definite characteristics
for the avid collector. Bishop like many etching artists would
pull the prints and title them in cursive writing.
He would not sign the print until they either sold
or placed it with an art gallery.

At the beginning of his career in the 1920's, Bishop’s
signature was done in graphite, very precise and neatly
placed in the right margin area of each print.

In the 1930's, the artist used a pen and ink signature. I am sure he found the pen
and ink medium was not forgiving when he would sign his name. A
sloppy or smeared signature would result in the loss of the print. His
signature also began to be more robust in the size of it,
the intensity and going up into the image of the impression.

After the 1940's, Bishop went back to a graphite signature which now included a larger and robust signature.