celebrating 40 years of print publishing
Center Street Studio: A Brief History
Artist and Master Printer James Stroud established Center Street Studio after working with printmaker Stanley William Hayter at Atelier 17 in Paris in 1980-81, then completing his MFA in painting and printmaking at the Yale School of Art in 1984. Since then Center Street Studio has produced hundreds of print projects with artists of national and international reputation. Stroud is particularly respected for actively seeking out emerging talent and pursuing projects with young artists. The studio specializes in all kinds of intaglio techniques but produces woodcut and monotype projects as well.
Origins
Prior to founding Center Street Studio, James Stroud began his printmaking career at Holy Cross College in Worcester, Massachusetts. His travels after school led him to study under the guidance of painter and printmaker Stanley William Hayter–formative in the Abstract Expressionist movement–at his Atelier 17 workshop in Paris. Hayter’s training, as well as mentorship from American artist George Ball, set him on his path towards establishing CSS after finishing his MFA at Yale University a few years later.
Stroud and Stanley William Hayter at Atelier 17 in Paris, 1980.
Stroud at work in the shop. Atelier 17, Paris. 1980.
Stroud and his mentor, George Ball, circa 1988.
Stanley William Hayter at Atelier 17. Paris, 1980.
Stroud and mentor George Ball installing work at the Salon de Mai. Paris, circa 1987.
1 Center Street, the Distillery Building,
and 369 Congress Street
The beginnings of CSS arose from a wealth of printing equipment that was up for sale at an old studio in Gloucester, Massachusetts. Stroud purchased the equipment and began working with artists in his shop in the mid-1980s at its first location at 1 Center Street in downtown Gloucester. The shop’s move to Boston into an old distillery building and then an early 20th century industrial space in South Boston’s Fort Point neighborhood during the early and mid-90s accompanied an ever-expanding roster of artists with whom Stroud collaborated, working with a variety of artists whose primary work ranged from sculpture to drawing.
Stroud at work printing during the earliest days of CSS at 1 Centre Street in Gloucester, MA, circa 1985.
Stroud gives a print demo at the old distillery building in South Boston, circa 1990.
Stroud with his wife and fellow artist, Janine Wong, at the old distillery building in South Boston, circa 1990.
Stroud with one of his presses, a French-American Tool Press, at the old distillery building in South Boston, circa 1990.
Stroud with the late artist James Hansen at an opening for Hansen's prints with CSS in 1994.
Stroud and artist Bill Thompson giving a talk at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), circa 1995.
Stroud at work in the studio at 369 Congress Street in South Boston's Fort Point neighborhood.
James Stroud and studio assistant Jeff Morin pull a print of John Walker's Passing Bells, in 1998.
Bernard Chaet, writer Arthur Polansky, James Stroud, and studio assistant Jeff Morin discuss Chaet's work for the Boston Portrait Project in 1998.
Move to Milton, MA
By 2001, with a growing family and the need for more space, Stroud commissioned the Shelter Institute from Woolwich, Maine to build a Post-and-Beam-style barn just south of Boston in the town of Milton, where the shop remains today more than 20 years later. Since the move to the barn, Stroud continues to expand his collaborative efforts with artists, from painters including Markus Linnenbrink, sculptors including John Wilson, photographers like Andy Freeberg and Eva Mueller, and renowned type designer Matthew Carter. Nearing his 40th year in printmaking, Stroud continues to seek out both well-established and emerging artists to produce new works in his shop, occasionally with the help from his wife and fellow artist Janine Wong and their two sons, Ryder and Walker.
Construction of the post-and-beam style barn in Milton, MA, CSS's current home, back in 2001.
Stroud with his oldest son, Ryder, putting the woodblock in place to complete the last of Richard Ryan's 'nine blue poppies' woodcut in January 2022.
Stroud, artist Janine Wong, and type designer Matthew Carter showing Carter's 'a–z' portfolio during an opening for Carter's work in Tokyo, Japan, October 2019.
Stroud and artist Markus Linnenbrink, pleased with the results during a session pulling Linnenbrink's IHEARDYOULOOKING monotypes during the summer of 2013.
Stroud with his younger son, Walker, pulling a print of George Whitman's 'untitled (dragonfly)' during the summer of 2020.
James Stroud and Ryder Stroud standing in front of the long-awaited complete edition of Richard Ryan's 'nine blue poppies' in January 2022.
Stroud with artist Laurel Sparks, looking over proofs of Sparks' Luminous Procuress prints during Spark's visit to the studio in 2010.
Stroud with artist Charles Ritchie signing Ritchie's April 2008 prints back during the summer of 2008.
Stroud with artist Raul González III signing González's prints Curios de las Americas/Curious about America, summer 2013.