The life and works of influential artist and master printer Robert Blackburn (1920-2003), whose innovation helped define the overall aesthetic of the American graphics “boom,” are highlighted in a new Smithsonian exhibition at The Hyde Collection.
1987, Photograph by Peter Sumner Walton Bellamy.
Running through April 24, 2022, “Robert Blackburn & Modern American Printmaking,” curated by Deborah Cullen, is organized by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES) in cooperation with the Trust for Robert Blackburn and The Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts’ Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop Program.
1952, color lithograph, 18 ¼ x 12 ½ in.
The Petrucci Family Foundation Collection of African American Art.
Enjoy Spotlight producer Paul Larson’s interview with show curator Deborah Cullen.
1972, woodcut, 12 x 11 1/2 in.
Nelson/Dunks Collection.
Blackburn, an African American artist born during the Harlem Renaissance, was a key person in developing printmaking in the United States. He became known as an influential teacher and master printer, engaging with avant-garde artistic ideas while promoting a new collaborative approach to a traditional medium. The exhibition traces Blackburn’s artistic evolution alongside the original prints of other iconic 20th-century American artists with whom he collaborated.
Learn more about this special exhibition at www.hydecollection.org.
c.1950, color lithograph, 13 ½ x 18 ¼ inches,
Nelson/Dunks Collection., Photograph by Greg Staley, Photo courtesy of the David C. Driskell Center at the University of Maryland, College Park.
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