Lynton Richards Kistler

Lynton Richards Kistler
Born	(1897-08-30)August 30, 1897 Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Died	November 9, 1993(1993-11-09) (aged 96) Laguna Hills, California, U.S.
Occupation	master printmaker
Years active	1920s–1976
Known for	lithography
Spouses	Naomi Tucker, Lelah O. Morris
Children	1
Father	William A. Kistler

Lynton Richards Kistler (1897–1993) was an American master printmaker, small book publisher, and author. He became known as the best stone lithographer in the United States, at the peak of his career in 1950s.[1] He owned and operated the lithography press, Kistler of Los Angeles.

Biography

Lynton Richards Kistler was born August 30, 1897, in Los Angeles, California.[2] He is descended on his paternal side from northern Switzerland and southern Germany people who had settled in Kistler Valley in Pennsylvania, and his maternal side was from England.[3] His father, William A. Kistler, had owned Kistler Printing and Lithography, a Los Angeles-based lithography and letterpress shop, for 30 years.[4][1][2] He attended Hollywood High School and Manual Arts High School.[1] During World War I, he served in the United States Army (1917 to 1918).[1][3]

In the late 1920s, Kistler learned lithography in this father's shop.[4] Early in his career he befriended and worked with Merle Armitage, and artists Jean Charlot and Edward Weston.[1] In 1936, his father sold the printshop, and Kistler started practicing lithography in the garage and briefly opened a business.[4] In 1941, Kistler moved to New York City to work in printmaking at Blanchard Press.[4]

In 1945, Kistler moved back to Los Angeles and started printing for a larger group of artists at Kistler of Los Angeles.[4] Starting in 1948, he worked with printmaker June Wayne, and inspired her to open Tamarind Lithography Workshop (now Tamarind Institute).[1][5] Printmakers Joe Funk and Jan Stussy also worked in the Kistler print workshop.[6] He stopped printing lithography in 1952 after experiencing an allergic reaction to the chemicals.[4]

Kistler worked with many artists over the years, including Millard Sheets, Wayne Thiebaud, Lorser Feitelson, Helen Lundeberg, Beatrice Wood, Hans Burkhardt, Eugene Berman, Clinton Adams, Palmer Schoppe [Wikidata], and Joe Mugnaini.[1]

He bought a commercial printing plant at 1653 West Temple Street in Los Angeles, which he held until 1970.[4] From 1970 to 1976, until his retirement, he owned a larger commercial printing plant.[4]

Kistler taught printmaking at UCLA Extension for many years.[1]

He died on November 9, 1993, in Laguna Hills, California, at the age of 96.[1]

Collections

Kistler's work is in public museum collections, including:

• Art Institute of Chicago,[7]
• British Museum,[8]
• Des Moines Art Center,[9]
• Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco,[10]
• Hammer Museum,[11]
• Library of Congress,[12]
• Los Angeles County Museum of Art,[13]
• Metropolitan Museum of Art,[14]
• Museum of Fine Arts, Boston,[15]
• National Gallery of Art,[16]
• Nelson Atkins Museum of Art,[17]
• New Mexico Museum of Art,[18]
• Philadelphia Museum of Art,[19]
• Richardson Memorial Library, Saint Louis Art Museum,[20]
• Syracuse University,[21]
• University of San Diego,[22]

Bibliography

• Kistler, Lynton R. (1950). How to Make a Lithograph: The Art of Stone Lithography.

References

1. Oliver, Myrna (November 16, 1993). "Obituaries: Lynton R. Kistler; Modern Artists' Lithographer". Los Angeles Times.
2. Hughes, Edan Milton (1986). Artists in California 1786-1940. San Francisco, CA: Hughes Publishing Co.
3. Ratner, Joanne L. (1993). The Fine Arts and Lithography in Los Angeles Oral History Transcript, 1988-89: Lynton Kistler. Oral History Program, University of California, Los Angeles – via Internet Archive.
4. "Kistler Printing and Lithography Collection". Online Archive of California (OAC). Retrieved 2021-08-18.
5. Brown, Betty Ann (2012). Afternoons with June: Stories of June Wayne's Art & Life. New York: Midmarch Arts Press. ISBN 978-1-877675-83-6.
6. "Jan Stussy". FAMSF Search the Collections. September 21, 2018. Retrieved 2021-08-19.
7. Berman, Eugene. "Verona". The Art Institute of Chicago. Retrieved 2021-08-18.
8. "print". The British Museum. Retrieved 2021-08-18.
9. "Lynton R. Kistler – Artists & Creators". Des Moines Art Center. Retrieved 2021-08-18.
10. "Lynton Kistler". FAMSF Search the Collections. September 21, 2018. Retrieved 2021-08-18.
11. "Lynton Kistler". Hammer Museum. University of California, Los Angeles. Retrieved 2021-08-18.
12. "Projective agent / Edmondson 1951". Library of Congress. Retrieved 2021-08-18.
13. "Lynton Kistler". LACMA Collections. Retrieved 2021-08-18.
14. "Deer, 1955". Metropolitan Museum of Art.
15. "Horse Frightened by Lightning". Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Retrieved 2021-08-18.
16. "Provenance". National Gallery of Art (NGA). Retrieved 2021-08-18.
17. "Lynton R. Kistler". The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. Retrieved 2021-08-18.
18. "Lynton R. Kistler". New Mexico Museum of Art. Retrieved 2021-08-18.
19. "Glamour Girl". Philadelphia Museum of Art. Retrieved 2021-08-18.
20. "Richardson Memoriail Library". Saint Louis Art Museum. Retrieved 2022-10-20.
21. "Colophon (stylized initials of Lynton R. Kistler)". Syracuse University. Retrieved 2021-08-18.
22. "Lynton Kistler". University of San Diego. Retrieved 2021-08-18.

External links

• Guide to the Kistler Printing and Lithography Collection from California State University, Northridge, and Online Archive of California
• The Fine Arts and Lithography in Los Angeles Oral History Transcript, 1988-89: Lynton Kistler, Oral History Program, University of California, Los Angeles