Face with Watch [state proof of 2nd state]
1996
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
aquatint and etching in black on wove paper [state proof]
Dimensions
plate: 90.81 x 60.01 cm (35 3/4 x 23 5/8 in.) sheet: 111.76 x 77.47 cm (44 x 30 1/2 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Patrons' Permanent Fund and Special Friends of the National Gallery of Art
Accession Number
2010.116.122
Art Historical Context
Jasper Johns, a pivotal figure in post-war American art, created *Face with Watch [state proof of 2nd state]* in 1996, blending his signature motifs of everyday objects with introspective imagery. Known for challenging perceptions through flags, targets, and numbers in the 1950s and 1960s—bridging Abstract Expressionism and Pop Art—Johns later explored fragmented forms and personal symbolism. This print likely merges a human face with the mechanical precision of a watch, inviting viewers to ponder time, identity, and memory. Printed in black aquatint and etching on wove paper, the work exempl...
About the Artist
Jasper Johns
Jasper Johns (born May 15, 1930) is an American painter, sculptor, draftsman, and printmaker whose revolutionary work fundamentally transformed the trajectory of postwar American art. Emerging in the 1950s when Abstract Expressionism dominated the New York art world, Johns introduced a radically different approach by painting familiar, everyday symbols—flags, targets, numbers, and maps—that he des...