Landacre, Paul Hambleton

Paul Hambleton Landacre (July 9, 1893 - June 3, 1963) was a Los Angeles-based artist best known for his linoleum and wood engravings, mostly depicting California landscapes. Born in Columbus, Ohio, Landacre had matriculated the Ohio State University as a star track and field athlete with dreams of being an Olympian. But after contracting a severe case of streptococcus, he was left greatly weakened and moved to San Diego to recover his health. In San Diego, Landacre began working in the advertising industry, where he met his wife Margaret McCreery (1891 - 1963), who would play a major role in his later successful art career. The couple moved to Laguna Beach and later Los Angeles as Landacre explored different artistic techniques, quickly developing a talent for linoleum and then wood engraving. In the late 1920s, Landacre came into the orbit of Jacob Zeitlin (1902 - 1987), a publisher, bookseller, and key node of L.A.'s avant-garde arts scene. Through Zeitlin, Landacre was able to stage his first exhibition and became connected to leading artists in the city like the photographer Edward Weston (1886 - 1958) and the painter and printmaker Henrietta Shore (1880 - 1963). Zeitlin also established the 'Paul Landacre Association,' a group of guaranteed buyers that provided Landacre with steady income from his works. By the late 1930s, Landacre's reputation as one of the greatest wood engravers in the United States had been established.