Oasis Dracula
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
lithograph (stone) in light pearly-gray and light pearly-yellow on white Nacre paper
Dimensions
image: 22 x 19.5 cm (8 11/16 x 7 11/16 in.) sheet: 34.3 x 33 cm (13 1/2 x 13 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Dorothy J. and Benjamin B. Smith
Accession Number
1983.18.264
Art Historical Context
Billy Al Bengston's *Oasis Dracula* (1968) is a captivating stone lithograph that exemplifies the artist's innovative approach to printmaking during the vibrant Los Angeles art scene of the 1960s. Bengston, a key figure in the "Cool School" and Finish Fetish movements, often explored glossy, reflective surfaces inspired by California car culture and custom motorcycles. This print, rendered in delicate light pearly-gray and pearly-yellow inks on shimmering white Nacre paper, a luminous, otherworldly quality—Nacre's mother-of-pearl-likeidescence mimicking the lacquered finishes of his renowned p...
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 ...