
Untitled
<p>Louise Nevelson's 1963 Tamarind fellowship occurred at a time of personal crisis. Her decision to jump galleries—after several financially successful exhibitions in the late 1950s and early 1960s—backfired when her first showing at Sidney Janis Gallery in New York failed to produce sales sufficient to cover the gallery advance she had received to prepare the show. Nevelson was forced to sell her house while paying legal fees to extricate herself from the new relationship with Janis. This combination of events left her financially and emotionally defeated.</p> <p>Arriving in Los Angeles in late April, Nevelson was soon rejuvenated by the sunny climate and the atmosphere in the workshop. As she has reflected: "I wouldn't ordinarily have gone. I didn't care so much about the idea of prints at that time, but I desperately needed to get out of town and all my expenses were paid." During May and June, she completed twenty-six editions of lithographs, using direct and often unorthodox methods. Among her glossary of techniques was the pressing of inked objects like erasers, lace, and other textured materials onto the stones and plates. Nevelson also made textures on transfer paper—a special paper used in lithography to create indirect images—and cut and transferred them to stone in a collage-like manner.</p> <p>No one had produced as many prints in six weeks of residency as had Nevelson. The published prints were well received, and the experience gave Nevelson renewed confidence.</p>
Catalogue
- Year
- 1963
- Dimensions
- Image: 75.8 × 54 cm (29 7/8 × 21 5/16 in.); Sheet: 80.1 × 57.2 cm (31 9/16 × 22 9/16 in.)
- Collection
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Artist
- Louise Nevelson
Artist

Sculpture
Louise Nevelson was an American sculptor known for her monumental, monochromatic, wooden wall pieces and outdoor sculptures. Born in Pereiaslav in the Poltava Governorate of the Russian Empire, she emigrated with her family to the United States in 1905. Nevelson learned English at school, as she spoke Yiddish at home.
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More by Louise Nevelson
Unbound plate from Nevelson's World
1983 · Screenprint
Series of an Unknown Cosmos XVII
1979 · Cut, torn, and pasted paper, colored paper, painted paper, metallic foil, and wood on paper on board
Series of an Unknown Cosmos, CII
1978 · Cut, torn, and pasted paper, colored paper, painted paper, metallic foil, and wood on board
Moon Garden (Black)
1976 · Cast paper toned with matte black spray paint
Moon Passage
1976 · Lithograph, etching, aquatint and embossing with collage additions
Untitled from Homage to Picasso (Hommage à Picasso)
1974 · Screenprint from a portfolio of thirty-one lithographs (one with aquatint, one with collotype, one with screenprint), twenty-two screenprints (one with embossing, one with flocking, one with stencil), eleven etchings (five with aquatint, one with aquatint and drypoint, one with aquatint, drypoint, and engraving), three aquatints (one with etching), and two woodcuts
Record
Verified by WattsOS- Artist
- Louise Nevelson
- Year
- 1963
- Dimensions
- Image: 75.8 × 54 cm (29 7/8 × 21 5/16 in.); Sheet: 80.1 × 57.2 cm (31 9/16 × 22 9/16 in.)
- Watts ID
- WW-1963-109084
Source
- Collection
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Source
- aic
- Reference
- View at source
- Status
- verified





