The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of June 19, 2026

A horizontally oriented color lithograph depicts a centered, symmetrical blossom on white paper. Pointed oval shapes in vivid yellow, pastel pink, and medium blue overlap, creating secondary greens and oranges. Most petals feature rows of white, oval-shaped dots along their edges. Translucent inks layer to form a dense, radial pattern, leaving the page corners blank. Handwritten numbers sit at the lower left and a cursive signature at the lower right.

Pressed Iron Blossom No. 2

2005

Willie Cole

(American, b. 1955)
publisher

Tamarind Press

America
color lithograph
Platemark: 56.5 x 76.5 cm (22 1/4 x 30 1/8 in.)
Gift of Joan Tomkins and William Busta 2023.146
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

In addition to lithography, the technique used to make this work, Willie Cole has also created prints using actual hot irons.

Description

This print features imagery evoking the scorch marks of a steam iron arranged to form a decorative floral pattern. This motif is one with longstanding interest to Willie Cole, who uses it to reference the domestic work undertaken by the women in his family employed as housekeepers, as well as the marks used to brand slaves during transport.
  • ?–2023
    William Busta and Joan Tomkins, Cleveland Heights, OH, given to The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
    September 11, 2023–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • {{cite web|title=Pressed Iron Blossom No. 2|url=false|author=Willie Cole, Tamarind Press|year=2005|access-date=19 June 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2023.146