Untitled
Linocut on paper mounted on paper
Support size: 12 1/8 x 9 3/8 inches; Image size: 6 x8 inches
1947
Work on loan: The Westmoreland Museum of American Art, Greensburg, Pennsylvania
As exhibited in:Our Own Work, Our Own Way: Ascendant Women in the Johnson Collection, The Columbus Museum, Georgia, 2024; The Westmoreland Museum of American Art, Greensburg, Pennsylvania, 2025
Living in New York in the 1940s Nell Blaine was an avowed abstractionist and an avid fan of jazz. At age twenty-two she became the youngest member of American Abstract Artists. Thirty years later she admitted: “We were very dogmatic about our program [to promote abstract art]. Now as I look back on it, I’m a little ashamed. … When you’re young you are very sure of yourself.”
In these two untitled prints, Blaine cut her images into linoleum, a material that is softer to work with than wood. Her designs demonstrate a keen interest in positive and negative shapes. In both instances, the white areas recede while the more colorful shapes—all organic—appear to advance.
Other works by this artist