Companioned
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
woodcut
Dimensions
block: 260 x 223 mm sheet: 384 x 333 mm
Classification
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Reba and Dave Williams Collection, Gift of Reba and Dave Williams
Accession Number
2008.115.2456
Art Historical Context
**Companioned** (1949) by Helen West Heller captures the artist's enduring passion for woodcut printmaking late in her career. Born in 1872, Heller was trailblazing American artist based in Chicago, celebrated for her bold, graphic woodblocks inspired by Japanese ukiyo-e traditions. Working into her late 70s, she produced this intimate print—measuring 260 x 223 mm on the block and 384 x 333 mm on the sheet—just four years before her death in 1953, showcasing her mastery amid the post-World War II revival of American printmaking. Woodcuts, a relief printing technique, involve carving images in...