Untitled

Prints and Drawings

1969

Karl Wirsum
American, 1939-2021

A talented draftsman, Wirsum has said that he never draws directly from the figure, though he does draw from life. The artist’s powerful visual memory allows him to construct bizarre images such as this female-like form whose disproportionate body is rendered both comedic and threatening. Foreshortened so that we view her from below, Wirsum’s figure appears to come from a nightmarish circus of the mind.

Status: Currently Off View
Department: Prints and Drawings

Artist: Karl Wirsum
Title: Untitled
Place: United States (Artist's nationality:)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: 1969
Medium: Graphite on ivory wove paper
Dimensions: 43.3 × 35.6 cm (17 1/16 × 14 1/16 in.)
Credit Line: Purchased with funds provided by Thomas Baron in honor of Dr. Joel Heller and Mark Belokon
Reference Number: 2014.148

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Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

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