UNDER PRESSURE: Prints from the Permanent Collection (1960-2000)

Many innovative and influential printmakers throughout art history are represented in the permanent collection of the Huntington Museum of Art. Yet, for centuries in the Western world, printmaking was seldom an artist’s creative focus. Printmaking remained closely associated with practical, commercial, and industrial applications, and was thus unfairly relegated as a less serious form of artistic expression. The invention of photography in the early 1800s rendered many of these functions largely obsolete, and a shift in collective attitudes was set in motion.

By the middle of the 20th century, the gulf between printmakers and artists of other disciplines was closing rapidly as experimentally minded artists from across the spectrum recognized the possibilities of printmaking. In the United States, opportunities to publish fine art prints grew as new print studios were established around the country. Emerging and established artists came from all around to collaborate with renowned master printers and produce exciting and often avant-garde work. For many artists, printmaking became a significant component of their stylistic development and personal expression. For collectors and enthusiasts, buying editioned works became an affordable way to build an impressive collection.

Under Pressure: Prints from the Permanent Collection (1960-2000) features a variety of printmaking processes such as etching, lithography, woodcut, screen printing, and more from this revolutionary time.

This exhibit is presented with support from The Isabelle Gwynn and Robert Daine Exhibition Endowment.

This program is presented with financial assistance from the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History, and the National Endowment for the Arts, with approval from the West Virginia Commission on the Arts.