Untitled [trial proof of 5th state]
1997 (published 1998)
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
etching and aquatint in red on wove paper [trial proof]
Dimensions
plate: 85.73 x 61.6 cm (33 3/4 x 24 1/4 in.) sheet: 104.78 x 73.34 cm (41 1/4 x 28 7/8 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Patrons' Permanent Fund and Special Friends of the National Gallery of Art
Accession Number
2010.116.474
Art Historical Context
Jasper Johns, a towering figure in postwar American art, is renowned for challenging perceptions of everyday symbols through his Neo-Dada and Pop Art-inflected works. Created in 1997 and published in 199, *Untitled [trial proof of 5th state]* captures Johns at the height of his late-career experimentation. As a trial proof—the fifth iterative state in the printmaking process—this piece represents a pivotal moment of refinement, where the artist tested compositions, tones, and effects before committing to the final edition. Housed in the National Gallery of Art's collection, acquired through th...
About the Artist
Jasper Johns
Jasper Johns (born May 15, 1930) is an American painter, sculptor, draftsman, and printmaker whose revolutionary work fundamentally transformed the trajectory of postwar American art. Emerging in the 1950s when Abstract Expressionism dominated the New York art world, Johns introduced a radically different approach by painting familiar, everyday symbols—flags, targets, numbers, and maps—that he des...