Folsom Street Variations II (Gray)
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
soapground etching with openbite and drypoint on Rives heavyweight white paper
Dimensions
image: 50.2 x 75.9 cm (19 3/4 x 29 7/8 in.) sheet: 67.3 x 101.9 cm (26 1/2 x 40 1/8 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Eugene L. and Marie-Louise Garbáty Fund and Patrons' Permanent Fund
Accession Number
1996.77.79
Art Historical Context
Richard Diebenkorn's *Folsom Street Variations (Gray)*, created in 1986, the artist's late-career exploration of printmaking during a period when he was renowned for his luminous abstractions and geometric compositions. A master of both figurative and abstract modes—earlier linked to the Bay Area Figurative Movement and later his expansive Ocean Park series—Diebenkorn turned to etching to capture subtle spatial tensions and atmospheric depth. This monochromatic work, housed in the National Gallery of Art, invites viewers into a contemplative gray-toned world, evoking urban rhythms possibly ins...
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...