Artist: Nancy Graves (American, 1939-1995)
Title: "Neferchidea"
Portfolio: Black Ground Series
*Signed and dated by Graves in pencil lower right
Year: 1987
Medium: Original Etching, Aquatint, Drypoint, and Embossing on Fabriano Artistico paper
Limited edition: 11/36, (there were also 6 artist's proofs)
Printer: Adriano Corazzi, Antonio Di Leo, and Giuseppe Di Leo of Vigna Antoniniana Stamperia d'Arte, Rome, Italy
Publisher: 2RC Edizioni d'Arte, Rome, Italy
Reference: "Nancy Graves: Excavations in Print - A Catalogue Raisonné" - Padon No. 66, page 108-109
Framing: Framed in a contemporary black moulding with a 100% cotton rag mat and plexiglass
Framed size: 39.5" x 46.75"
Sheet size: 35.38" x 44"
Image size: 23.5" x 31.25"
Condition: Some cosmetic wear to frame and plexiglass with some marker touch-ups. The print is in mint condition with strong colors
Very rare
Notes:
Provenance: private collection - Philadelphia, PA. Numbered by Graves in pencil lower left. Comes from Graves' 1987 "Black Ground Series" portfolio of three intaglio prints, (Padon Nos. 65-67, page 108-109). The three works include "Anifoglie", "Neferchidea", and "Radix". Printed in four runs from four copperplates: 1 yellow, orange, solferino, and yellow green (aquatint); 2 yellow green, violet, and light yellow red (aquatint; 3 ultramarine, blue mille, and emerald green (aquatint); 4 black (etching, aquatint, and drypoint). Vigna Antoniniana Stamperia d'Arte and 2RC Edizioni d'Arte chop marks/blind stamps lower left. Processing, proofing, and printing supervised by Valter and Eleonora Rossi; edition printing by Adriano Corazzi, Antonio Di Leo, and Giuseppe Di Leo.
"Josef Albers's "interaction of Color", a course Graves had taken as a student at the School of Art and Architecture at Yale University in the early 1960's, was the inspiration for a series of paintings the artist completed between 1981 and 1983. In this related series of intaglio prints, Graves explored the optical effects of intense color against black grounds. In "Anifoglie", "Neferchidea", and "Radix", the artist also manipulated the ability of various intaglio print techniques to create distinct planar entities. Adding to the complex spatial readings is the artist's selective use of embossing that included areas of the black ground, creating forms that are read almost subliminally. The BATs for all three prints were pulled in 1984, the editions in 1987." - "Nancy Graves: Excavations in Print - A Catalogue Raisonné" - Padon page 108.
