Swan Engraving IV

Swan Engravings is one of Stella's most extensive printmaking projects to date, including twenty-five prints published over a three year period. The name for the series itself comes from the Swan Engraving Company in Bridgeport, Connecticut with whom Stella worked with. The series was initiated by nine large-scale black and white intaglio prints of which, Swan Engraving IV belongs to. Stella incorporated fragmented shapes and, for the first time, found objects (lacelike tablecloth patterns, letters and numerals) alluding to the strategies of cubist collage. The collage method was also used by Stella when physically assembling his plates for the series in his characteristic lively, spontaneous manner.