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 (81 items)

East Baltimore Documentary Survey Project
Dateca. 1975
gelatin silver print
Not on view
Linda Rich, Houses were built in close proximity to packing houses and canneries at the turn of the century, 1977-1980, gelatin silver print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the National Endowment for the Arts, 1983.63.1098, © 1975, George Jadowski
Houses were built in close proximity to packing houses and…
Date1977-1980
gelatin silver print
Not on view
Linda Rich, McElderry Park, 1979, gelatin silver print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the National Endowment for the Arts, 1983.63.1161, © 1975, George Jadowski
McElderry Park
Date1979
gelatin silver print
Not on view
Linda Rich, Neighborhood boys by the Bankard-Gunther Mansion, Butchers Hill. The mansion, built in 1864, was originally the home of a well-to-do butcher who amassed his fortune during the Civil War by selling his beef and pork products to the Union Army, 1977-1980, gelatin silver print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the National Endowment for the Arts, 1983.63.1154, © 1975, George Jadowski
Neighborhood boys by the Bankard-Gunther Mansion, Butchers…
Date1977-1980
gelatin silver print
Not on view

More Artworks from the Collection

John Atherton, Minnesota, from the United States Series, 1946-1949, gouache and ink on paperboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Container Corporation of America, 1984.124.6
Minnesota, from the United States Series
Date1946-1949
gouache and ink on paperboard
Not on view
George Segal, The Restaurant, 1975, brush and ink, pen and ink, oil wash, gouache, charcoal and collage: photograph on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the General Services Administration, Art-in-Architecture Program, 1977.47.56
The Restaurant
Date1975
brush and ink, pen and ink, oil wash, gouache, charcoal and collage: photograph on paper
Not on view
Hans Erni, "The reason, in respect of which we are rational beings, is common: if this is so, common also is the reason which commands us what to do, and what not to do; if this is so, there is a common law also; if this is so, we are fellow-citizens; if this is so, we are members of some political community; if this is so, the world is in a manner a state...My nature is rational and social; and my city and country, so far as I am Antonius, is Rome; but so far as I am a man, it is the world."--Marcus Aurelius Antonius, 121-180. From the series Great Ideas of Western Man., 1950, gouache, scratchwork and india ink on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Container Corporation of America, 1984.124.88
The reason, in respect of which we are rational beings, is…
Date1950
gouache, scratchwork and india ink on paper
Not on view
William H. Johnson, Jitterbugs (I), ca. 1940-1941, pen and ink, gouache, and pencil on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.135
Jitterbugs (I)
Dateca. 1940-1941
pen and ink, gouache, and pencil on paper
Not on view