Accession Number
1979/2.128

Title
Monkey and Lamp

Artist(s)
Anne Ryan

Artist Nationality
American (North American)

Object Creation Date
1945

Medium & Support
white-line woodcut on paper

Dimensions
18 7/8 in x 12 in (48 cm x 30.4 cm);25 3/8 in x 18 1/2 in (64.5 cm x 47 cm)

Credit Line
Gift of Gerome Kamrowski

Subject matter
After taking printmaking classes with Stanley William Hayter, Ryan, a self-taught artist, began working in woodcut. About this time, she became one of the prominent members of the New York School and is associated with the early Abstract Expressionists there. As in this work, Ryan is recognized for her incorporation of the "white-line woodcut" technique of printing on black paper and allowing for the images to appear almost as if hand drawn. In this print, a monkey sits on the back of a horse, holding a lantern, while a spirit comes from above. Her interest in experimental printmaking techniques is combined with her focus on mysterious imagery in this work.

Physical Description
This color woodcut is printed on black paper. At the center, there is a white horse with a monkey sitting on its back. Next to the monkey, there is a bright yellow object. A white figure swings from an amorphous shape, outlined in black, coming from the upper right of the image. The background is blue with a green circle to the upper left. The print is titled (l.l.) "Monkey and Lamp", numbered (l.c.) "47/50", signed and dated (l.r.) "A Ryan '45", and dedicated (l.c.) "For Felix III Christmas 1945" in white ink.

Primary Object Classification
Print

Primary Object Type
color print

Collection Area
Modern and Contemporary

Rights
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.

Keywords
Equus caballus (species)
abstraction
color woodcuts
horses
lamp
modern and contemporary art
monkeys
monkeys (animals)
self-taught artists
spirits (beings)
women (female humans)