Aetna Printing Co.

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Concentric cobalt-blue and lemon-yellow rings forming a target alternate against a cherry-red background in this vertical photoscreenprint. The innermost circle is blue and is followed by two yellow and two more blue rings. Scribbled lines in the same colors and in black are scrawled across most of the rings and background. A row of four panels in pumpkin orange line the top of the target. Each panel encloses a person’s nose and mouth, shaded with gray and partially overlaid with black scribbles. A narrow beige rectangle runs across the top of the cubbies and the framing around them. Tiny text in a white gap between the stacked panels reads “HINGE” to the left and repeats it to the right. The image is surrounded by a wide white margin with some faint red smudges at the two bottom corners. A pencil inscription under the left corner of the printed image reads, “Working Proof with additions in chalk, ink + collage.” The artist scrawled his signature and the date, “1968” under the right corner.
Jasper Johns, Aetna Printing Co., Target with Four Faces [working proof], 1968, color photoscreenprint with added chalk, ink, and collage on wove paper [working proof], Patrons' Permanent Fund and Special Friends of the National Gallery of Art, 2004.167.17

Target with Four Faces [working proof]

Jasper Johns, Aetna Printing Co. · 1968 · color photoscreenprint with added chalk, ink, and collage on wove paper [working proof] ·  Accession ID  2004.167.17

Concentric cobalt-blue and canary-yellow rings alternate and create a target against a cherry-red background in this vertical screenprint. The innermost circle is blue, followed by two yellow and two additional blue rings. Black, scribbled lines are unevenly spaced across the target and background. The top quarter of the print shows a row of four orange, cubby-like objects framed by wood panels. The cubbies each encase a person’s nose and mouth, though the features on the rightmost version are faint so it appears abstract. A wooden slat runs across the top of the cubbies and wood framing around them. The light tan-colored wood panels are drawn with wood grain. Tiny text in the white gap between the wood panels reads “HINGE” to the left and repeats it to the right. The image is surrounded by a wide white margin. A pencil inscription under the left corner of the printed image reads, “Trial Proof (wood grain in black and not final red).” The artist scrawled his signature and the date, “66” under the right corner, and added “For Lois, Johns, 28 May ‘70” below.
Jasper Johns, Aetna Printing Co., Target with Four Faces [trial proof], 1968, color screenprint on Rives BFK paper [trial proof], Pepita Milmore Memorial Fund, 2000.120.4

Target with Four Faces [trial proof]

Jasper Johns, Aetna Printing Co. · 1968 · color screenprint on Rives BFK paper [trial proof] ·  Accession ID  2000.120.4