For the last 50 years, we’ve been in the room with some of the world’s greatest artists as they created some of their greatest works.
Many call us their foundation, their rock, yet we are neither mentor or muse, assistant or subject, collector or creator.
We are Stonehenge. One of the finest, most versatile, most universal, and most affordable 100% cotton papers the world has ever seen.
What did artists do before Stonehenge? They either spent a lot or settled for little. They had the choice of emptying their pockets and waiting for their crème-de-la-creme European fine art paper to find its way to them or settling for a surface that wasn’t right, compatible or worthy of their craft.
That’s why 50 years ago, Michael Ginsburg, Co-Founder of Legion, decided to create his own paper here in America. How did he do it? With initiative, technical expertise and by spending countless nights sleeping beside a paper machine.
First, he needed to find a mill that would help him make a very special paper: one that would be affordable while capturing the same qualities as the gold-standard, European fine art paper of the time. It would take an ungodly number of formulas, trials, and long nights; the only time the mill could squeeze in Michael and his dream.
Of course, this new paper would need to be 100% cotton and feature deckled edges, unmatched sizing, and would never crack when pressed. He went back to that mill in New England 12 times that year to get it perfect.
And he did.
He named it Stonehenge, and the paper world would never be the same.
In the 80s, Michael and his partner, Lenny Levine, started by putting in a lot of work and shoe leather selling to individual artists, one-by-one. After achieving groundswell, they then sought out two of the most influential sites for NY artists in the ‘80s: Pearl Paint and NY Central Supply. These art stores weren’t staffed with salespeople; they were staffed with artists that could make or break any new paint, pencil or paper. Well, turns out Michael and Len were on to something because those artists bought what they were selling, and they recommended it to ALL the artists.
And that’s when Stonehenge became the it-paper.
Stores loved it as it was easy to get, affordable and the results were unmatched. Artists started trying it out for printmaking. Did it work? Yes. Then they tried it for drawing and again, Stonehenge came through. Graphite? Colored pencils? Pastels? Yes, yes and yes.
And by that time, it wasn’t just a paper, it was THE paper of artists, amateur and professional. Same holds true today. Over the last 50 years, Legion has grown Stonehenge to become so much more. It has birthed new lines of paper in almost every size, color, and format, with every sheet conveying its legacy of value, quality, and excellence. With Stonehenge available to all, artists have thrived with a paper that doesn’t just do everything, it does everything exceptionally well. And it has to.
Because at Legion Paper, we believe that our artists deserve and will accept nothing less.
Block Printing on Stonehenge Kraft by Aftyn Shah
Silkscreen on Stonehenge by Serio Press
Colored Pencil on Stonehenge by Ester Roi