Animations:

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America’s 250th

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Open Call

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

Casts (Words) [trial proof 1]

1976

Jasper Johns

Associated Names

Jasper Johns

Artist, American, born 1930

Petersburg Press

Publisher

Aldo Crommelynck

Printer, French, 1931 - 2008

Irregular blobs and splotches dominate the composition, with black outlines creating organic, undefined shapes that appear to float on a lighter background. The forms might remind one of ink blots or islands viewed from above, with their uneven edges and varied sizes adding a sense of randomness. Some of the shapes could evoke footprints or puddles, recasting them as familiar elements seen in unfamiliar ways.

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Artwork overview

Medium

aquatint in black on wove paper [trial proof]
Credit Line

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

plate: 27.94 × 19.69 cm (11 × 7 3/4 in.)
sheet: 32.07 × 24.77 cm (12 5/8 × 9 3/4 in.)
Accession Number

2008.136.240
Catalogue Raisonné

ULAE, no. 173 [trial proof]

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 1/5

Wikidata ID

Q76439710

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