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

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

Words [trial proof 6]

1976

Jasper Johns

Associated Names

Jasper Johns

Artist, American, born 1930

Aldo Crommelynck

Printer, French, 1931 - 2008

Petersburg Press

Publisher

The image shows a grid of uppercase letters forming words, with abstract black scribbles and brushstrokes layered over them. The composition is divided into two halves, resembling the open pages of a book. This abstract interplay of text and scribbles evokes the appearance of a chalkboard filled with overlapping handwritten notes or the busy texture of a crowded city street map.

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Artwork overview

Medium

drypoint and lift-ground aquatint in black on wove paper [trial proof]
Credit Line

Patrons' Permanent Fund and Special Friends of the National Gallery of Art
Dimensions

sheet: 32.5 × 50 cm (12 13/16 × 19 11/16 in.)
plate: 29.5 × 49.5 cm (11 5/8 × 19 1/2 in.)
Accession Number

2008.136.183
Catalogue Raisonné

ULAE, no. 173 [trial proof 6]

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

the artist, Sharon, Connecticut; acquired 2008 by the National Gallery of Art

Associated Names

Johns, Jasper

Bibliography

1978

Field, Richard S. Jasper Johns: Prints 1970-1977. Middletown, Connecticut: Wesleyan University Press, 1978, no.

1994

Field, Richard S. The Prints of Jasper Johns, 1960-1993: A Catalogue Raisonné. West Islip, New York: Universal Limited Art Editions, 1994, no. 173.

Inscriptions

lower right in graphite: J Johns; lower left in graphite: TRIAL PROOF 6/10

Wikidata ID

Q76439635

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