About this artwork
Fourth Stone is related to a group of relief sculptures from the early 1960s in which Bontecou inserted serrated saw blades or metal bars into her signature holes. These blades and bars conjure isolated, floating mouths of razor-sharp teeth or prison cell windows. She also began to use horizontal stripes, reminiscent of prisoners’ uniforms. The effect is claustrophobic and threatening. Fear and violence often go hand-in-hand with wonder and the sublime for Bontecou, who once wrote that in her work she wanted to “glimpse some of the fear, hope, ugliness, beauty, and mystery that exists in all of us.”
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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
- Fourth Stone
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Place
- United States (Artist's nationality:)
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Date
- 1963
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Medium
- Lithograph from two stones in black ink on ivory wove paper
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Dimensions
- Image: 95.5 × 69.7 cm (37 5/8 × 27 1/2 in.); Sheet: 104.7 × 75.5 cm (41 1/4 × 29 3/4 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
- 1982.95e
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.
