Monolith

Dorothy Dehner, Monolith, 1965, pen and ink on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Given to the National Museum of American Art in recognition of the contributions of Adelyn Breeskin to the Washington Print Club, the National Museum of American Art, and the Washington Print Community, 1986.44
Dorothy Dehner, Monolith, 1965, pen and ink on paper, sheet: 22 3431 18 in. (57.879.0 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Given to the National Museum of American Art in recognition of the contributions of Adelyn Breeskin to the Washington Print Club, the National Museum of American Art, and the Washington Print Community, 1986.44

Artwork Details

Title
Monolith
Date
1965
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
sheet: 22 3431 18 in. (57.879.0 cm)
Credit Line
Given to the National Museum of American Art in recognition of the contributions of Adelyn Breeskin to the Washington Print Club, the National Museum of American Art, and the Washington Print Community
Mediums
Mediums Description
pen and ink on paper
Classifications
Subjects
  • Abstract
Object Number
1986.44

Artwork Description

Early in her career, while she was married to the sculptor David Smith, Dorothy Dehner made paintings, drawings, and prints. After their divorce in 1952, she too began to make sculpture, producing totemic constructions first in bronze and later in wood. The forms of Monolith invoke the solidity of the monumental sculpture, while the intricate cross-hatching that creates the forms reveals the refined drawing skills she developed before she became a sculptor.

Abstract Drawings, 2012

Works by this artist (1 item)

Byron Kim, Glenn Ligon, Black & White, 1993, oil on wood panels, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the C.K. Williams Family Foundation, Pamela K. and William A. Royall, Jr., Jane and James H. Cohan, Mihail Lari and Scott Murray, Aimee and Robert Lehrman, Home Front Communications, and museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 2014.16A-FF, © 1993, Byron Kim and Glenn Ligon
Black & White
Date1993
oil on wood panels
Not on view

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The Runaway Match
Date1877
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Not on view
John Henry Twachtman, Figure in Sunlight (Artist's Wife), ca. 1890-1900, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of John Gellatly, 1929.6.137
Figure in Sunlight (Artist’s Wife)
Dateca. 1890-1900
oil on canvas
On view
Unidentified (Italian), Saint, 19th century, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Laura Dreyfus Barney and Natalie Clifford Barney in memory of their mother, Alice Pike Barney, 1952.13.157
Saint
Artist
Unidentified (Italian)
Date19th century
oil on canvas
Not on view