Light-skinned women in colorful garments sit and lie on elephants partially submerged in water. The water is not painted; it is just the tone of the off-white paper itself.

Amy Cutler

Elephant Ferries

Maker

Amy Cutler (American, b. 1974, Poughkeepsie, New York)

Title

Elephant Ferries

Year

2006

Medium

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

Materials

gouache, watercolor

Supports

Dimensions

76.2 x 57.2 cm (30 x 22 1/2 inches) (sheet)

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Paula and Leonard Granoff Fund

Object Number

2007.55

Type

Exhibition History

On Paper
Gifts from Paula and Leonard Granoff
Oct 29, 2022 – Apr 16, 2023

Label copy

Exhausted women drape themselves across elephants carrying them through a flood. Amy Cutler’s detailed descriptions of the figures and trees contrast starkly with her use of the white of the paper to indicate water. Fine patterning on the garments adds to the narrative Cutler invites viewers to imagine. “There is something about line made with a brush—it undulates and you can’t get it with anything else. I don’t use any painterly techniques,” she stated. “I am actually trying to hide that so that it’s more about the image.”

–Jan Howard, Houghton P. Metcalf Jr. Curator of Prints, Drawings, and Photographs

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Tombstone

Amy Cutler (American, b. 1974, Poughkeepsie, New York)
Elephant Ferries, 2006
Opaque and transparent watercolor on paper
76.2 x 57.2 cm (30 x 22 1/2 inches) (sheet)
Paula and Leonard Granoff Fund 2007.55

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