Hollywood Hawaiian Dracula
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View on museum website →Medium
lithograph (zinc and aluminum) in yellow and beige on uncalendered Rives paper
Dimensions
sheet: 29.3 x 27.4 cm (11 9/16 x 10 13/16 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Dorothy J. and Benjamin B. Smith
Accession Number
1983.18.250
Art Historical Context
Billy Al Bengston's *Hollywood Hawaiian Dracula* (1968) is a vibrant lithograph that captures the playful irreverence of California's 1960s art scene. Created using zinc and aluminum plates, this print employs yellow and beige tones on uncalender Rives paper—a textured, heavyweight stock that enhances ink absorption and gives the work a tactile, almost sculptural quality. Measuring just 29.3 x 27.4 cm, its intimate scale invites close viewing, revealing Bengston's precise control over color layering and subtle gradations. Bengston a key figure in Los Angeles's "Cool School" alongside artists ...
About the Artist
Billy Al Bengston
Billy Al Bengston, born on June 7, 1934, in Dodge City, Kansas, embodied the sun-soaked, rebellious spirit of postwar Los Angeles after his family relocated there in 1948. His artistic training began at Los Angeles City College in 1952, where he studied ceramics under Bernard Kester. He then pursued painting under Richard Diebenkorn and Saburo Hasegawa at the California College of Arts and Crafts ...