Dorothy Dehner

Untitled (Abstract Composition)

Maker

Dorothy Dehner (American, b. 1908)

Title

Untitled (Abstract Composition)

Year

1955

Medium

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

Materials

ink, watercolor

Supports

Dimensions

40 x 52.1 cm (15 3/4 x 20 1/2 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

LR: incribed in ink, "Dorothy Dehner 55"

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Gift of the Dorothy Dehner Foundation for the Visual Arts

Object Number

1996.32

Type

Exhibition History

Tradition and Innovation in American Watercolors
Jan 27, 1999 – Apr 11, 1999

Label copy

In the early 1950s, Dehner joined Atelier 17 in New York, a workshop run by the influential printmaker Stanley William Hayter. There she explored abstract linear forms in engraving, which she then lightly colored with stencils. A similar approach is seen is this abstraction in watercolor. 1955 marked a period of great joy in her life as her work began to receive much critical attention. At the same time, depression over World War II and her recent divorce from sculptor David Smith began to fade. During this year she began exploring sculpture in earnest, the medium in which she truly built her reputation.

Image use

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Tombstone

Dorothy Dehner (American, b. 1908)
Untitled (Abstract Composition), 1955
Ink and watercolor on paper
40 x 52.1 cm (15 3/4 x 20 1/2 inches)
Gift of the Dorothy Dehner Foundation for the Visual Arts 1996.32

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