Test Tubes I
1990
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
color aquatint, spitbite aquatint, and drypoint on Somerset Textured paper
Dimensions
sheet: 38.4 x 34.6 cm (15 1/8 x 13 5/8 in.) image: 22.9 x 22.5 cm (9 x 8 7/8 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Kathan Brown
Accession Number
1998.40.150
Art Historical Context
**Test Tubes I** (1990) by British sculptor Tony Cragg is captivating print that bridges his renowned three-dimensional explorations with the intricate world of printmaking. Created during a period when Cragg was pushing boundaries in contemporary art—fresh off his 1988 Turner win—this work reflects his fascination with organic forms and everyday objects reimagined through abstraction. Housed in the National Gallery of Art as a generous gift from printmaking pioneer Kathan Brown, exemplifies Cragg's versatility beyond sculpture. The medium—a sophisticated blend of color aquatint, spitbite aqu...
About the Artist
Tony Cragg
Sir Tony Cragg (b. 1949) is a British sculptor whose career, spanning more than five decades, has traced a remarkable arc from early assemblages of found industrial materials to large-scale works of virtuosic formal invention in bronze, steel, glass, and wood. Born in Liverpool, Cragg worked as a laboratory technician for the British Rubber Producers Research Association before pursuing formal art...