Flotsam [working proof 4]
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
aquatint with drypoint on Rives paper [working proof 4]
Dimensions
30 x 22 in.
Classification
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Kathan Brown
Accession Number
2024.132.281
Art Historical Context
Richard Diebenkorn's *Flotsam [working proof 4]*1992) captures the late-career experimentation of one of America's most innovative painters. Born in 1922, Diebenkorn is celebrated for his fluid transitions between abstract expressionism and Bay Area Figurative painting, often blending luminous color with introspective forms. This print, created just a year before his death, reflects his shift toward printmaking in the 1980s and 1990s, exploring oceanic themes—*flotsam* evokes drifting debris, perhaps symbolizing memory or transience—in abstracted, ethereal compositions. Printed in aquatint wi...
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...