Charles M. Capps, Village in the Sun, 1951

Capp’s prints which combine the etching and aquatint processes comprise his most accomplished and lauded group of his prints. His expert handling of the medium allowed him to render this striking composition with subtle tones that encapsulate the majestic quality of light that this Northern New Mexico region is known for. Charles Capps would collect reference material for his prints by compiling photographs, sketches, and writings during his summer stays in Taos and Santa Fe.

Charles M. Capps was among the most active members of the Prairie Print Makers. Commissioned to create two of the society’s gift prints, he also served as its president for over twenty years. . .
. . . His Father was a clothing manufacturer, and as a young man Capps worked in the mills during his summer vacations. . . [He] graduated from Illinois College of Jacksonville in 1920. Following his graduation, Capps studied for two years at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts and then for one year at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia. . . [He] moved to Wichita to become a member of C.A. Seward’s staff at Western Lithograph. After a short time, Capps left Wichita to accept a position with an advertising agency in Springfield, Illinois. Subsequently, he moved to San Francisco, determined to launch a career as a freelance commercial artist. With these experiences behind him, Capps returned to Wichita in 1925 to a better job at Western Lithograph. . .
Capps was soon inspired by the example of C.A. Seward and began to experiment with woodcuts. . . in 1931 he created his first etching. He became immediately involved with this new medium and developed his technique to the point that in 1937 he was awarded the gold medal at the Midwestern Artists’ Exhibition. . .
During this period, Capps became acquainted with the aquatints of Doel Reed . . . Capps wrote, in retrospect, “Ten years ago [I] first saw some of Mr. Reed’s aquatints, and was unforgettably impressed by that new revelation of the dramatic possibilities of the medium.” . . .
. . . Although his images include many Midwestern scenes, Southwestern subjects were his favorites. Capps made annual visits to the Taos and Santa Fe area for many years, and in the simple shapes of the adobe architecture, and the area’s marked contrasts of light and shadows, he found the ideal inspiration for his aquatint technique with its subtle tonal variations.  —Barbara Thomson O‘Neill and George C. Foreman, The Prairie Printmakers (1981)

In addition to the Prairie Print Makers, Capps was a member of several other professional associations, including the Society of American Etchers, the California Print Makers, the Chicago Society of Etchers, and the Wichita Art Association. His artwork is held in a number of important collections, including the Carnegie Institute, Dallas Museum of Art, Denver Art Museum, Joslyn Art Museum, Kansas City Art Institute, Library of Congress, National Academy of Design, Philbrook Museum of Art, San Diego Museum of Art, Royal Ontario Museum, and the Swedish National Museum.

Refs: O’Neill and Foreman, The Prairie Printmakers, illustrated p. 33.