Nido Dracula
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View on museum website →Medium
lithograph (aluminum) in light yellow and light gray-green on white Arches paper
Dimensions
sheet: 19.8 x 19 cm (7 13/16 x 7 1/2 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Dorothy J. and Benjamin B. Smith
Accession Number
1983.18.267
Art Historical Context
Billy Al Bengston's *Nido Dracula* (1968) is a delicate lithograph that captures the artist's signature blend of precision and playfulness from California's vibrant 1960s art scene. Printed in soft light yellow and light gray-green on luxurious white Arches paper, this intimate work measures just under 8 inches square, inviting close contemplation. Bengston, a key figure in the "Cool School" and Finish Fetish movement alongside artists like Ed Ruscha, pioneered the use of industrial materials—here, an aluminum lithographic plate—for sleek, machine-like surfaces that evoke speed and modernity, ...
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 ...