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Nevelson demonstrated a keen talent for draftsmanship beginning in childhood. She first developed an interest in printmaking when she visited Stanley William Hayter’s Atelier 17 in the mid-1940s, a particularly challenging time for the artist as she struggled to find her métier. In the early 1950s, with little or no training, she made a series of thirty etchings. She returned to printmaking from time to time over the course of her career, working with notable studios such as Hollander Graphic Workshop in New York. She created her first lithographs with Tamarind Workshop in Los Angeles and, with 2RC Editions in Rome, produced aquatints with collage.
Moon Passage was created in 1976, when the artist was experimenting with printmaking in dynamic and innovative ways. The print combines lithography, etching, aquatint, and embossing with collage additions. The printed area is a small, nearly square rectangle. The area is divided into nearly equal halves by a line that runs horizontally across the rectangle, suggesting a horizon line. The lower portion is printed in brown ink with a large irregular black mass in the lower right corner. A gray box occupies the center of the printed area, below the horizontal line. Half of the gray box is covered by a collage, consisting of a metallic rectangle that is silver on top and gold on bottom. A second collage element, a thin strip of silver, has been added to the top of the horizon line. The top edge is ragged, as if that edge of the metallic paper has been torn. The upper portion of the rectangle is printed in grainy black ink with areas of subtle changes in the intensity of tone. A long, irregularly shaped black box occupies the right three-quarters of the top section, while a grainier, narrow rectangular area on the left side is less saturated with ink.
The result is an image in which shapes are repeatedly split in half, suggesting horizons and divisions—between earth and sky, phases of the moon, light and dark. Nevelson herself articulated her beliefs in the binary nature of life: “We humans have a vertical and a horizontal, the day and the night. You stand up in the light and you lie down in the dark. Those are the principles for the grid, almost for the cube.” [1] Created toward the end of her life and employing the personal iconography that she had developed over decades, Moon Passage demonstrates Nevelson’s ongoing spiritual journey.
Notes:
[1] Nevelson quoted in Vicki Goldberg, “Creators on Creating: Louise Nevelson,” Saturday Review (August 1980), 36.
ProvenanceTo 1983
Barbara B. Millhouse (born 1934), New York, NY and Winston-Salem, NC. [1]
From 1983
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Winston-Salem, NC, given by Barbara B. Millhouse on December 29, 1983. [2]
Notes:
[1] Deed of Gift, object file.
[2] See first note.
Exhibition History1976
Reynolda House Museum of American Art Twentieth Century American Print Collection
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Winston-Salem, NC (12/3/1976-?)
Part of an exhibition featuring prints from RH's collection; installed throughout the historic house.
2022
Louise Nevelson: Architect of Light and Shadow
Reynolda House Museum of American Art (4/22/22 - 9/18/22)
Published References
DepartmentAmerican Art
Moon Passage
Artist
Louise Nevelson
(1899 - 1988)
Date1976
Mediumlithograph, etching and embossed collage
DimensionsFrame: 19 3/16 x 18 11/16 in. (48.7 x 47.5 cm)
Image: 6 1/2 x 7 in. (16.5 x 17.8 cm)
SignedNevelson - 76
Credit LineGift of Barbara B. Millhouse
Copyright© 2021 Estate of Louise Nevelson / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Object number1983.2.33
DescriptionLouise Nevelson is best known for her iconic shadow-box-like sculptures, but her work in printmaking was also significant. With her prints, she was able to experiment with shading, gradation, color, and reflectiveness in a way that was impossible with her matte black sculptures.Nevelson demonstrated a keen talent for draftsmanship beginning in childhood. She first developed an interest in printmaking when she visited Stanley William Hayter’s Atelier 17 in the mid-1940s, a particularly challenging time for the artist as she struggled to find her métier. In the early 1950s, with little or no training, she made a series of thirty etchings. She returned to printmaking from time to time over the course of her career, working with notable studios such as Hollander Graphic Workshop in New York. She created her first lithographs with Tamarind Workshop in Los Angeles and, with 2RC Editions in Rome, produced aquatints with collage.
Moon Passage was created in 1976, when the artist was experimenting with printmaking in dynamic and innovative ways. The print combines lithography, etching, aquatint, and embossing with collage additions. The printed area is a small, nearly square rectangle. The area is divided into nearly equal halves by a line that runs horizontally across the rectangle, suggesting a horizon line. The lower portion is printed in brown ink with a large irregular black mass in the lower right corner. A gray box occupies the center of the printed area, below the horizontal line. Half of the gray box is covered by a collage, consisting of a metallic rectangle that is silver on top and gold on bottom. A second collage element, a thin strip of silver, has been added to the top of the horizon line. The top edge is ragged, as if that edge of the metallic paper has been torn. The upper portion of the rectangle is printed in grainy black ink with areas of subtle changes in the intensity of tone. A long, irregularly shaped black box occupies the right three-quarters of the top section, while a grainier, narrow rectangular area on the left side is less saturated with ink.
The result is an image in which shapes are repeatedly split in half, suggesting horizons and divisions—between earth and sky, phases of the moon, light and dark. Nevelson herself articulated her beliefs in the binary nature of life: “We humans have a vertical and a horizontal, the day and the night. You stand up in the light and you lie down in the dark. Those are the principles for the grid, almost for the cube.” [1] Created toward the end of her life and employing the personal iconography that she had developed over decades, Moon Passage demonstrates Nevelson’s ongoing spiritual journey.
Notes:
[1] Nevelson quoted in Vicki Goldberg, “Creators on Creating: Louise Nevelson,” Saturday Review (August 1980), 36.
ProvenanceTo 1983
Barbara B. Millhouse (born 1934), New York, NY and Winston-Salem, NC. [1]
From 1983
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Winston-Salem, NC, given by Barbara B. Millhouse on December 29, 1983. [2]
Notes:
[1] Deed of Gift, object file.
[2] See first note.
Exhibition History1976
Reynolda House Museum of American Art Twentieth Century American Print Collection
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Winston-Salem, NC (12/3/1976-?)
Part of an exhibition featuring prints from RH's collection; installed throughout the historic house.
2022
Louise Nevelson: Architect of Light and Shadow
Reynolda House Museum of American Art (4/22/22 - 9/18/22)
Published References
Status
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