Trial Pattern: Western [working proof 3]
2001
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
color aquatint, sugar lift aquatint, and soft ground etching on wove Somerset paper [working proof 3]
Dimensions
plate: 45.2 × 36.2 cm (17 13/16 × 14 1/4 in.) sheet: 58 × 46.7 cm (22 13/16 × 18 3/8 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Kathan Brown
Accession Number
2024.132.578
Art Historical Context
Gay Outlaw's *Trial Pattern: Western [working proof3]* (2001) invites visitors into the intimate world of printmaking experimentation. This vibrant color print, measuring 45.2 × 36.2 cm on wove Somerset paper, captures the artist's iterative process as a working proof—the third in a series of trials refining composition, color, and texture. Donated to the National Gallery of Art by print publisher Kathan Brown it exemplifies contemporary graphic arts from the early 2000s, a period when artists like Outlaw pushed traditional techniques into abstract, pattern-driven explorations. Outlaw masterf...