1958

The Maiden Aunts

Dorothy Dehner

American, 1901 - 1994

With its tonal background, geometric shapes, and precise line work, The Maiden Aunts demonstrates a number of the intaglio printmaking techniques Dorothy Dehner learned from fellow Abstract Expressionist William Stanley Hayter at his avant-garde printmaking workshop, Atelier 17. The rich, watercolor-like tones of the background were achieved through aquatint, a process by which a copper plate is treated with a powdered material called rosin. The small white dots seen throughout the gray ground of this work are characteristic of the medium. The dark background contrasts with the five light oval forms at the center of the composition, highlighting the biomorphic etched lines within—the titular aunts.