Beth Van Hoesen: Perfecting Printmaking

February 2 – March 30, 2013

Beth Van Hoesen (American, 1926-2010) spent her life striving to create perfect images – set apart from time and space, unrestricted by context, and distilled to essential fundamentals.  By focusing purely on the subject, such as with her animal depictions, Van Hoesen places her subject in isolation, stripping them of any outside context.  The viewer is forced to look at the subject, only the subject, and it becomes obvious that they have been carefully observed and rendered technically correct.  Her images are born from an almost scientific devotion to line, emphasizing an importance of craftsmanship and technique in the creation of her artwork.  This perfection in her prints comes from many preparatory drawings and early state proofs.

The UW Art Museum received a generous gift of 31 prints and drawings from the E. Mark Adams and Beth Van Hoesen Adams Trust and selections from this gift are on view as a highlight of this important acquisition of 2012. 

Funded in part by UW Art Museum Gala Funds.

Images:

Left: Beth Van Hoesen (American, 1926-2010), Maharani (BAT), 1988, aquatint, etching, and drypoint with roulette, printers inks on paper, handcolored with watercolor, 15-1/2 x 13 inches, gift of the E. Mark Adams and Beth Van Hoesen Adams Trust, University of Wyoming Art Museum Collection, 2012.3.16

Right:  Beth Van Hoesen (American, 1926-2010), Buster, 1982, spit-bite aquatint, drypoint, and etching with roulette and retroussage, printer’s inks on paper, handcolored with watercolor, 46/100, 19-7/8 x 17-3/4 inches, gift of the E. Mark Adams and Beth Van Hoesen Adams Trust, University of Wyoming Art Museum Collection, 2012.3.19