The Maiden Aunts

Dorothy Dehner, The Maiden Aunts, 1953, etching and aquatint on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Dorothy Dehner Foundation for the Arts, 1999.79.5
Copied Dorothy Dehner, The Maiden Aunts, 1953, etching and aquatint on paper, plate: 5 3⁄8 x 7 1⁄4 in. (13.7 x 18.4 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Dorothy Dehner Foundation for the Arts, 1999.79.5

Artwork Details

Title
The Maiden Aunts
Artist
Date
1953
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
plate: 5 3⁄8 x 7 1⁄4 in. (13.7 x 18.4 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of the Dorothy Dehner Foundation for the Arts
Mediums Description
etching and aquatint on paper
Classifications
Subjects
  • Abstract — geometric
Object Number
1999.79.5
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1999.79.5

Artwork Description

The delicate, skeletal figures in Dorothy Dehner's works reveal her curiosity about natural history and the underlying structures of life. In these two prints, patters of lines build vein-like webs within and between playfully dancing figures. When Dehner took up etching in the early 1950s, working at the experimental New York printmaking studio Atelier 17, she found that this physical process of carving grooves into copper plates reactivated her interest in making sculpture. Soon her practice also included the creation of large works in metal, using stacked and layered shapes to build three-dimensional figures and scenes, that solidified her reputation as a sculptor.