Escape II
1986
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
lithograph in black and gray on wove paper
Dimensions
image: 59.7 x 63.7 cm (23 1/2 x 25 1/16 in.) sheet: 62.3 x 66.1 cm (24 1/2 x 26 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of June Wayne, in Honor of the 50th Anniversary of the National Gallery of Art
Accession Number
1991.205.20
Art Historical Context
"Escape II" is a striking 1986 lithograph created by June Wayne, a pioneering American printmaker. Rendered in black and gray tones on wove paper, the work measures just under 24 by 26 inches, inviting close contemplation of its layered textures and tonal contrasts. As a lithograph, it exemplifies the medium’s capacity for rich, velvety surfaces and subtle gradations—qualities that have made lithography a vital artistic technique since the nineteenth century. Wayne’s gift of the print to the National Gallery of Art, offered in honor of the museum’s 50th anniversary, underscores its place with...
About the Artist
June Wayne
June Wayne (1918–2011) was a pioneering American printmaker, painter, tapestry innovator, and activist whose self-taught brilliance reshaped modern lithography and championed women in the arts. Born June Claire Kline on March 7, 1918, in Chicago to single mother Dorothy Kline—a fiercely independent Russian Jewish immigrant who fled pogroms—Wayne dropped out of high school at 15 to pursue art. Her ...