Portrait in Spilled Ink
1938
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
aquatint
Dimensions
Image: 236 x 172 mm (irregular) Sheet: 325 x 245 mm
Classification
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Reba and Dave Williams Collection, Gift of Reba and Dave Williams
Accession Number
2008.115.2699
Art Historical Context
"Portrait in Spilled Ink is a captivating aquatint print created by American artist John Paul Jensen in1938. Measuring 236 x 172 mm on an irregularly shaped image within a 325 x 245 mm sheet, this work exemplifies the innovative spirit of mid-20th-century print. Acquired as part of the Reba Dave Williams Collection and gifted to the National Gallery Art, it resides in the CG-W Department, classified simply as a print—yet one that invites viewers to ponder the fluidity of identity and form. Aquatint, Jensen's chosen medium, is an intaglio technique perfected in the 18th century but thriving in...
About the Artist
John Paul Jensen
John Paul Jensen (1904–1990) was an American printmaker based in Chicago, Illinois, where he spent much of his career etching and engraving intricate scenes of everyday life. Little is known about his early life, which remains sparsely documented, but he received formal training under the artists A. Philbrick and J. Norton, honing his skills in the precise techniques of intaglio printing. Active d...