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Open 10:00–5:00

Visit
Open today 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Admission is always free

6th and Constitution Ave NW
Washington, DC 20565

Sculpture Garden Extended Hours

Open late until 8:00 p.m. on select nights
Through September 5
Exhibitions & Events
America’s 250th

Celebrating American art and artists
Art & Artists
Open Call

Artists Reimagining the Collection
Meet the 50 makers selected from more than 1,600 submissions

Stranger in the Gates

1953

Jacob Kainen

Associated Names

Jacob Kainen

Artist, American, 1909 - 2001

The image shows bold, jagged black lines intersecting against blocks of earthy reds and greens in a somewhat rectangular and fragmented structure. This abstract composition suggests an elongated figure against a grassy green background, possibly standing beside a fence or structure with arms slightly outward. The use of overlapping geometric shapes enhances the abstract nature of the artwork.

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Artwork overview

Medium

five-color woodcut on Asian paper
Credit Line

Gift of Ruth Cole Kainen in honor of the artist's 90th birthday
Dimensions

image: 42.6 x 53.7 cm (16 3/4 x 21 1/8 in.)
sheet: 51.9 x 60.9 cm (20 7/16 x 24 in.)
Accession Number

1999.82.41
Catalogue Raisonné

Flint 1976, no. 86

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Ruth Cole Kainen, Washington, D.C.; gift to NGA, 1999

Associated Names

Kainen, Jacob

Bibliography

1976

Flint, Janet. Jacob Kainen: Prints, A Retrospective. Washington, DC: National Collection of Fine Arts, 1976, no. 86.

Inscriptions

below image in graphite; lower left: Stranger in the Gates; lower center: Ed. 6; lower right: Jacob Kainen 1953

Wikidata ID

Q75424335

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