Blue Club
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
soft-ground etching and aquatint in black, brown, blue, and green
Dimensions
plate: 48 x 45.5 cm (18 7/8 x 17 15/16 in.) sheet: 78 x 95 cm (30 11/16 x 37 3/8 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Joshua P. Smith Collection
Accession Number
1985.76.2
Art Historical Context
Richard Diebenkorn's *Blue Club* (1981) captures the artist's late-career exploration into printmaking, a medium he embraced alongside his renowned paintings. A pivotal figure in mid-20th-century American, Diebenkorn between abstraction and figuration, notably through his Bay Area Figurative style luminous Ocean Park series. Created when he was nearly 60, this print reflects his masterful command of color and form, evoking abstracted spaces that hint at architectural or interior motifs—perhaps a stylized nod to a nocturnal "club" atmosphere. Executed in soft-ground etching and aquatint, the w...
About the Artist
Richard Diebenkorn
Richard Clifford Diebenkorn Jr. (1922-1993) was one of the premier American painters of the postwar era, whose deeply lyrical abstractions and figurative works evoked the shimmering light and wide-open spaces of California. Born in Portland, Oregon, and raised in San Francisco, Diebenkorn became a pivotal figure in elevating the status of California art on the international stage. His career encom...