The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 29, 2024

Impromptu

Impromptu

1938
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

Henry Keller's first work as a commercial lithographer involved printing circus posters.

Description

Cleveland-born artist Henry Keller frequently worked in lithography throughout his long career. Many artists collaborated with a master printer, but Keller could print his work himself; he was extremely knowledgeable about the technique after having apprenticed with a commercial lithographer for almost a decade as a young man. In prints such as this one, he combined his professional knowledge with an interest in the human figure and expressive mark making: two female nudes are reduced to simple forms and surrounded with repetitive, gestural lines that suggest Keller’s continuing interest in abstraction.
  • after 1938-1943
    Print Club of Cleveland, Cleveland, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
    1943-
    Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • A Lasting Impression: Gifts of the Print Club of Cleveland. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (May 5-September 22, 2019).
  • {{cite web|title=Impromptu|url=false|author=Henry Keller|year=1938|access-date=29 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1943.175