Harpy

1899

Edvard Munch

Associated Names
Edvard Munch

Artist, Norwegian, 1863 - 1944

A bold, abstract image showing sweeping lines creating the shape of a large bird-like creature with expansive wings hovering over a skeletal figure lying horizontally below. The creature’s wings arch upwards like an umbrella. The skeletal figure on the ground has a bony structure and is in an outstretched position. The interplay of dark shading and lighter backgrounds creates an eerie juxtaposition.
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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    color lithograph on wove paper mounted on board

  • Credit Line

    The Epstein Family Collection

  • Dimensions

    image (irreg.): 37.2 × 32.8 cm (14 5/8 × 12 15/16 in.)
    sheet: 56.6 × 50 cm (22 5/16 × 19 11/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    2023.161.26

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Woll 2012, no. 145

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Kaare Berntsen, Oslo, 10 May 1976; to the Epstein Family Collection, Washington; gift to NGA, 2023.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1981

  • Edvard Munch and the Female Paradigm, The Virginia Museum, Richmond, 1981.

  • Edvard Munch: Paradox of Woman, Aldis Browne Fine, Ltd., New York; McNay Art Institute, San Antonio; Abilene Fine Arts Museum, Abilene; Denver Art Museum, Denver; University Art Galleries, University of Southern California, Los Angeles; Minnesota Museum of Art, St. Paul, 1981-1983.

1983

  • The Prints of Edvard Munch: Mirror of His Life, Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin College, Oberlin; Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus; Portland Art Museum, Portland; Bowdoin College Museum of Art, Brunswick; Williams College Museum of Art, Williamstown, 1983-1984.

1984

  • Alpha and Omega. Its Gestation and Resolution, Sarah Lawrence College Gallery, Bronxville, 1984.

1985

  • De grafische kunst van Edvard Munch: Spiegel van zijn leven (The Graphic of Edvard Munch: Mirror of His Life), Rijksmuseum Vincent van Gogh, Amsterdam, 1985-1986.

1986

  • Edvard Munch: Mirror Reflections: Edvard Munch, "The Frieze of Life" and "The Mirror", Norton Gallery and School of Art, West Palm Beach, Florida, 1986.

  • The Prints of Edvard Munch: Mirror of His Life, Achenbach Foundation, California Palace of the Legion of Honor, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, San Francisco, 1986.

  • Encounter in Space: Double Images in the Graphic Art of Edvard Munch, Franklin and Marshall College, Lancaster; Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover; Wellesley College Museum of Art, Wellesley, 1986-1987.

1997

  • Munch and Women: Image and Myth, San Diego Museum of Art; Portland Art Museum, Portland; Columbia Museum of Art, Columbia; Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, 1997.

1999

  • Edvard Munch: Prints from the Epstein Family Collection, National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto; Hiroshima Museum of Art, Hiroshima; Mitsukoshi Museum of Art, Fukuoka; Sogo Museum of Art, Chiba, 1999.

Inscriptions

"Edv Munch" lower right margin, graphite. Not dated. "21 1/2 / 35-" lower right margin, graphite, unknown hand. "F.7." verso, lower right sheet, blue crayon, unknown hand.

Markings

None.

Watermarks

None.

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