Dorothy Dehner

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.