Object number2019.24.2

Get Ready

Date2006

Artist Mary Lee Bendolph (American, born 1935)

CultureAmerican

MediumSoft-ground etching with aquatint and spit-bite aquatine on paper

EditionEdition 36 of 50

DimensionsPlate: 24 3/4 x 32 7/8 in. (62.9 x 83.5 cm)
Sheet: 35 3/4 x 43 in. (90.8 x 109.2 cm)
Matted: 37 x 44 in. (94 x 111.8 cm)

Credit LinePurchase, Betsy Mudge Wilson, class of 1956, Memorial Fund in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Africana Studies Program

Period21st c

Classification(s)

SignedOn recto, signed lower right margin in pencil: Mary Lee Bendolph

InscribedOn recto, by artist, lower right margin in pencil: 2006; lower center margin: GET Ready; lower left margin: 36/50

MarkingsOn recto, blindstamp of a printing press [Paulson Bott/Fontaine's stamp] lower right corner

Vassar Exhibitions

In Translation: Prints Across Media

Exhibition HistoryPoughkeepsie, New York, The Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, Vassar College, "In Translation: Prints Across Media," May 28 – September 18, 2022

Label TextMary Lee Bendolph is a member of the Gee’s Bend quiltmaking collective based in Gee’s Bend, Alabama. Part of a tradition of quilt making by enslaved peoples stretching back to the 18th century, the Gee’s Bend Collective is known for vibrant, geometric compositions that have received widespread acclaim. Printer Renee Bott worked with members of the Collective to translate their textiles into print. They employed a soft-ground etching technique to imprint the fabric’s surface pattern onto the copper plate, which is etched when the plate is submerged in the acid bath. This technique denied the signature “hand” of the artist, bringing the print closer to the anonymity of historical women’s work. - John P. Murphy

DescriptionAsymmetrical quilt pattern of large, bold interlocking geometric shapes in black, red, cream, salmon, green and gray on a white background.

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email loebcollections@vassar.edu