Figures in a Landscape

Image Not Available
Copied Dorothy Dehner, Figures in a Landscape, 1958, engraving on paper, sheet: 15 x 18 in. (38.1 x 45.7 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1987.12.3

Artwork Details

Title
Figures in a Landscape
Artist
Date
1958
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
sheet: 15 x 18 in. (38.1 x 45.7 cm)
Credit Line
Museum purchase
Mediums Description
engraving on paper
Classifications
Keywords
  • Figure(s) in exterior
  • Abstract
  • Landscape
  • Architecture — science — power lines
Object Number
1987.12.3
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1987.12.3

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.