Dorothy Dehner (1901–1994) was an influential American artist who worked with drawing, painting, printmaking, and most notably sculpture.
Despite her artistic contributions, Dehner's legacy was overshadowed for many years by her ex-husband, the acclaimed sculptor David Smith. Stifled by their tumultuous relationship, Dehner only fully committed to her practice after divorcing him in 1951. This break was highly fruitful for her output and reputation in the years following.
After the divorce, Dehner refined her artistic voice and expanded her practice to include printmaking and sculpture. Her new-found independence and renewed ambition led to a pivotal relationship with the esteemed printmaking studio Atelier 17. Working there she formed a close and enduring friendship with Louise Nevelson.
Today Dehner has been re-embraced and repositioned in the American art canon. Her work is best understood and appreciated in the context of not only David Smith, but other artists dedicated to sculpture including Lee Bontecou, Ruth Asawa and of course Louise Nevelson.
Simultaneously spontaneous and architectural, Dehner's oeuvre resists categorization. Her works on paper (especially from the 1950s) are an essential and important part of her oeuvre, although she is known as a sculptor.
This intimate and impactful work on paper perfectly demonstrates Denher's distinct brand of abstraction, characterized by fine, precise lines that converge and intercept at various degrees. It is both architectural and spontaneous.
Dehner had a strict palette and used color very judiciously. Typical of her creations from the 1950's, the structures or dominant forms are rendered in watercolor or ink. However they are highlighted, or here in this work both enlivened or embellished with splatter of moss green.
Although Dehner's work can be easily understood in the context of abstract expressionism, she isn't afraid to make allusions to personal emotions and possibly her own personal experiences. An abstraction such as this one takes on a different significance when we consider the title "Disappointment on Sunday". Is this a diaristic creation? Take a look at another Dehner work, with a startlingly different mood and aesthetic entitled "Woman in a Tantrum".
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“Disappointment on Sunday”
USA, circa 1950
Ink and watercolor on paper
Titled lower left
Signed with the artist's initials verso and "ND #2"
(indicating it is the second drawing from the Nickel Drawing series)
4"H 5"W (work)
12"H 15"W (framed)
Framed with museum glass
Very good condition
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