About this artwork
In Pirates, the artist worked for the first time in offset lithography, in which the images on metal plates are first transferred (“offset”) to rubber blankets or rollers before being printed onto the paper. The most complex print she had yet attempted, Pirates required seven metal plates and three lithographic stones to produce its final, swirling image, one of what Bontecou called her “worldscapes.” The title was chosen by Bontecou’s printer; Bontecou herself resisted giving titles to her works, not wishing to influence the viewer’s interpretation.
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Status
- Currently Off View
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Department
- Prints and Drawings
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Artist
- Lee Bontecou
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Title
- Pirates
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Place
- United States (Artist's nationality:)
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Date
- 1979–1982
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Medium
- Lithograph from seven plates and three stones in black, gray, blue, purple, and metallic silver ink on white wove paper
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Dimensions
- 97 × 115.5 cm (38 1/4 × 45 1/2 in.)
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Credit Line
- U.L.A.E. Collection acquired through a challenge grant of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Dittmer; purchased with funds provided by supporters of the Department of Prints and Drawings; Centennial Endowment; Margaret Fisher Endowment Fund
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Reference Number
- 1983.270
Extended information about this artwork
Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.
