Recent Acquisitions at the National Gallery of Art: Etchings by Eva Hesse & Works on Paper by Emma Amos
Two Etchings by Eva Hesse (1936–1970)
Hesse produced an extraordinarily inventive, influential body of work in her short career. Pioneering the use of unusual materials—including textiles, latex, and fiberglass—and individual sculptural forms, she ushered in a new conceptual era of sculpture and installation art in the 1960s. Although not known for her prints, Hesse produced at least 14 etchings, 17 lithographs, and two woodcuts early in her career.
The Gallery has acquired two etchings that show Hesse's early fascination with texture, versatility of line, tensions between positive and negative space, and the expressive, vulnerable qualities of material and structural form.
These works join one print, two drawings, and one sculpture by Hesse already in the Gallery's collection.
Five Works on Paper by Emma Amos (1937–2020)
The National Gallery of Art has recently acquired five works on paper (four prints and one collaged paper-pulp work) made from the 1960s to the early 2000s by the artist and activist Emma Amos. These works are examples of Amos's engagement with issues of feminism, racism, and power dynamics in imagery that does not always appear overtly political.
Amos was the youngest and only female member of the important New York artist collective Spiral, which was formed in response to the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963. Founded by Richard Mayhew, Romare Bearden, and Hale Woodruff, the collective served as a forum for African American artists to discuss their role in America's rapidly changing political and cultural landscape. They explored ideas such as whether "black art" can or should be defined—issues that continue to be debated today.
Amos went on to contribute to the important feminist art journal Heresies and purportedly participated in the Guerrilla Girls, an activist group of anonymous women artists who protest injustices in the art world. Throughout her career Amos faced prejudice against both her race and gender, and she primarily showed her art in exhibitions that featured black and/or women artists. Amos's employment and family life also limited her artistic production, contributing to her mostly small and often experimental printed editions that have slight variations, such as collaged or other unique elements, as seen in several of the works acquired by the Gallery.
These five works on paper join one print diptych by Amos in the Gallery's collection.
Please visit the 'External Link' below to view images of these recent acquisitions.
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Hesse produced an extraordinarily inventive, influential body of work in her short career. Pioneering the use of unusual materials—including textiles, latex, and fiberglass—and individual sculptural forms, she ushered in a new conceptual era of sculpture and installation art in the 1960s. Although not known for her prints, Hesse produced at least 14 etchings, 17 lithographs, and two woodcuts early in her career.
The Gallery has acquired two etchings that show Hesse's early fascination with texture, versatility of line, tensions between positive and negative space, and the expressive, vulnerable qualities of material and structural form.
These works join one print, two drawings, and one sculpture by Hesse already in the Gallery's collection.
Five Works on Paper by Emma Amos (1937–2020)
The National Gallery of Art has recently acquired five works on paper (four prints and one collaged paper-pulp work) made from the 1960s to the early 2000s by the artist and activist Emma Amos. These works are examples of Amos's engagement with issues of feminism, racism, and power dynamics in imagery that does not always appear overtly political.
Amos was the youngest and only female member of the important New York artist collective Spiral, which was formed in response to the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963. Founded by Richard Mayhew, Romare Bearden, and Hale Woodruff, the collective served as a forum for African American artists to discuss their role in America's rapidly changing political and cultural landscape. They explored ideas such as whether "black art" can or should be defined—issues that continue to be debated today.
Amos went on to contribute to the important feminist art journal Heresies and purportedly participated in the Guerrilla Girls, an activist group of anonymous women artists who protest injustices in the art world. Throughout her career Amos faced prejudice against both her race and gender, and she primarily showed her art in exhibitions that featured black and/or women artists. Amos's employment and family life also limited her artistic production, contributing to her mostly small and often experimental printed editions that have slight variations, such as collaged or other unique elements, as seen in several of the works acquired by the Gallery.
These five works on paper join one print diptych by Amos in the Gallery's collection.
Please visit the 'External Link' below to view images of these recent acquisitions.
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