Flotsam [working proof 2]

Image not available — this artwork is under copyright

View on museum website →

Medium

aquatint with drypoint on Rives paper [working proof 2]

Dimensions

30 x 22 in.

Classification

Print

Department

CG-W

Museum

National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

Credit

Gift of Kathan Brown

Accession Number

2024.132.279

Art Historical Context

Richard Diebenkorn's *Flotsam [working proof 2]*1992) captures the artist's late-career exploration into printmaking, a medium he embraced toward the end of his life. A prominent figure in American modernism, Diebenkorn is celebrated for his evolution from abstract expressionism to the Bay Area Figurative style, blending loose, atmospheric forms with subtle emotional depth. This print, measuring 30 x 22 inches, reflects his ongoing fascination with organic shapes and spatial ambiguity—evoking the title's "flotsam," or drifting debris, through fluid, improvisational compositions. Created as an...

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...

    Send Feedback