Mr. Crawley

Variant Dates: 1973, 1978.Medium: Etching.Print Image Size: 19 3/4 x 15 1/4 inches.Print Edition: no edition (with 17 artist's proof).Alternate Medium: Two-plate color etching.Ink(s): red, yellow, blue, orange, dark green, black.Support: wove paper.A distorted and elongated bust-length figure, based on drawings done by the mentally ill patients of Hans Prinzhorn, German psychiatrist and art historian. First-state proofs were printed in green ink, one of which [CMA 2013.057.029] has additional black ink drawing of spiders, beetles, worms, and larvae. The creature designs were subsequently made as a separate plate to be printed over the initial impression of the figure. Second-state impressions [CMA 2013.057.041] reveal the figure's plate was cut into four pieces, printed in red, blue, green, and orange ink, with black ink on the overlaid creature plate. The third state [CMA 2001.034.273] was printed in yellow, orange, and red ink, using only the lower figural plate. The creature plate was reworked with a dark background around the head and printed in black ink over the figure. Fourth-state impressions [CMA 2001.034.396] have the figural plate printed the same way as the third state, except the creature plate was flipped upside-down. Art of the mentally ill influenced other prints such as Prinzhorn's Beauty [CMA 2001.034.254]