Torment

1919/1920 (published 1929)

Arthur B. Davies

Associated Names
Arthur B. Davies

Artist, American, 1862 - 1928

Frank A. Nankivell

Printer, American, born Australia, 1869 - 1959

The image depicts the upper body of a person reclining in a horizontally laid-back pose. The individual's head is resting on something, with soft facial features and dark hair loosely styled around their head. The person appears unclothed, with bare skin visible. The background includes abstract forms and shapes resembling foliage or soft fabric patterns. There are no visible jewelry or objects held by the person. The composition uses a palette of subtle gray tones to create a serene atmosphere.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    softground etching with aquatint in black on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Gift of Ruth Cole Kainen

  • Dimensions

    plate: 20 x 30.2 cm (7 7/8 x 11 7/8 in.)
    sheet: 23.6 x 36 cm (9 5/16 x 14 3/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    2005.99.8

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Czestochowski 1987, no. 102, iv/iv

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

(Graphics International, Ltd., Washington, D.C.); Ruth Kainen, Washington, D.C., purchased August 31, 1972; gift to NGA, 2005.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

2014

  • Modern American Prints and Drawings from the Kainen Collection, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, 2014-2015

Bibliography

1987

  • Czestochowski, Joseph S. Arthur B. Davies: A Catalogue Raisonné of the Prints. Newark: University of Delaware Press, 1987, no. 102, iv/iv.

Inscriptions

lower left in graphite: Frank A. Nankivell print; lower right in brown ink: Arthur B. Davies; lower left verso in graphite by unknown hand: 22 Torment; lower right verso in graphite by unknown hand: 75.00

Markings

Ruth Kainen stamp

Wikidata ID

Q76336299

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