Little Bird
1973
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
color lithograph on Rives BFK wove paper
Dimensions
sheet: 105.41 × 75.57 cm (41 1/2 × 29 3/4 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Jay Finkel
Accession Number
2013.121.113
Art Historical Context
**Little Bird**, a vibrant color lithograph created by Leonard Baskin in1973, exemplifies the artist's profound mastery of printmaking during a pivotal era in American graphic arts. Baskin, a renowned sculptor, illustrator, and printmaker associated with the post-World War II humanist tradition, often infused his works with themes of vulnerability, mortality, and the human condition. Printed on luxurious Rives BFK wove paper—a premium, heavyweight French sheet prized for its smooth surface and ability to capture intricate details and rich colors—this 41½ × 29¾-inch sheet showcases lithography'...
About the Artist
Leonard Baskin
Leonard Baskin (1922–2000) was a towering figure in American art, renowned for his monumental sculptures, powerful woodcuts, and intricate book illustrations that grappled with the human condition's darker facets. Born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, to a family of rabbis, he moved to Brooklyn's Jewish Orthodox Williamsburg neighborhood at age seven. Vowing to become a sculptor at 15, Baskin apprent...