William Meyerowitz
Abstract New York (recto); Portrait of a Woman (verso)
1929-1938
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William Meyerowitz
Abstract New York (recto); Portrait of a Woman (verso)
1929-1938
Physical Qualities
Color etching and aquatint inked à la poupée (recto); etching (verso), Sheet: 237 × 278 mm. (9 5/16 × 10 15/16 in.)
Plate: 201 × 252 mm. (7 15/16 × 9 15/16 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Ingrid Rose, Washington, D.C., in Memory of her Husband, Milton M. Rose
Object Number
2013.250
In December 1930, The Baltimore Museum of Art presented an exhibition of the work of William Meyerowitz. The artist was then celebrated, as he is now, for his exploration of color printmaking. In the case of "Abstract New York", Meyerowitz revisited and transformed his etching New York No. 2, depicting part of the Manhattan skyline, by augmenting his design with tonal passages of aquatint, then inking the plate with different colors. The resulting composition was suffused with a loose pattern of color swaths. As can be seen here, Meyerowitz occasionally recycled the paper he used for his prints. "Abstract New York" was printed on the reverse side of a sheet with an impression of another (and presumably earlier) etching of a woman’s head.
The Baltimore Museum of Art by gift, 2013; Ingrid Rose, Washington, D.C.
New Arrivals: Gifts of Art for a New Century
Signed: Printed from more than one plate
Inscribed: In plate, at lower left: "Wm Meyerowitz"; below image, at right, in graphite: "Wm Meyerowitz"; at bottom left, in graphite: "Abstract New York"
Markings: None
