Go back

Metamorphosis of a Damsel Fly

Print
This is a multimedia piece done by Ellen Lanyon. In it she takes an etching print and paints with watercolor over the top to add color. The written description suggests it was made at the Ox-Bow. It was made for her friend Jean Palmer's 86th birthday, and gives the date 8/16/78. The title beneath this work reads “detail” and gives the viewer a clue to the simplicity of the work. The simple nature of the design is also what makes it so striking, as the snippet and composition of the hand and damselfly that are both cut off by the border of the work, thus implying movement. We can tell it is an etching print due to the embossing around the edge. This is done in the printing process, because the original design is first made on a metal plate- usually copper.
Metamorphosis of a Damsel Fly picture number 1

2020.30.06

Etching

Damselfly and hand

made for Jean Palmer's 86th Birthday

Artworks

Voss, Mary

Lanyon, Ellen

Aug 16, 1978

Inscription

Bottom of print

8/16/78=86 OxBow - Love Ellen Lanyon

English

AC bay 23 small works

Art Conservation Room

Ox-Bow/Summer School of Art

Ellen Lanyon 1926 - 2013 Detail: Metamorphosis of a Damsel Fly 1978 | Print and Watercolor Notes: Ellen Lanyon had been an icon of the Art Institute of Chicago school for over 60 years. She was also very active at the Ox-Bow Summer School of Painting in Saugatuck, Michigan. Lanyon had taught painting at several institutions, including the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, the Cooper Union and the School of Visual Arts in New York City and she received may awards in her career This watercolor was inspired by the Ox-Bow “in-house” photographer, Wallace Kirkland who used the Ox-Bow natural environment for a series of insects, published in Life magazine. It was a birthday gift to her friend, Jean Palmer. Collection: Saugatuck Douglas History Center Gift of: Chris Spencer in memory of Charles Ashbrenner Accession: 2020.30.06

12/07/2020

09/02/2024