Stairway with Skeleton

Object NamePrint

Artist / Maker Amy Namowitz Worthen ((American, b. 1946))

Date1977-1978

OriginUSA

MediumEngraving, drypoint and roulette

Dimensions16 3/16 x 13 3/4 in. (41.1 x 34.9 cm)

ClassificationsPrints and Printing Plates

Credit LineGift of Fred and Ruth Kammeier. In the permanent collection, Brunnier Art Museum, University Museums, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa.

Object numberUM86.564

Status

Not on view

Collections

CultureAmerican

Edition41/50

Label TextAmy Namowitz Worthen was born in New York City and attended the High School of Music and Art, the Art Students’ League and the Brooklyn Museum School. She continued her education at Smith College, studying printmaking with Leonard Baskin. In 1968, she made a dramatic move to Iowa to study at the University of Iowa with renowned printmaker Mauricio Lasansky. Worthen remained in Iowa and began teaching, but also continues to produce and exhibit. Although skilled in many printmaking techniques, the precision and control of engraving best suits her extremely descriptive and meticulous style. Worthen also has a flare for the fanciful, as seen in the group of prints, The State Capitol, from which Stairway with Skeleton is taken. Whimsical, even comical, images are juxtaposed with others that are direct and explicit, referencing the surreal and organized chaos sometimes characteristic of government. In "Stairway with Skeleton", the imposing Victorian stairway, an architectural element visually synonymous with the Iowa State Capitol Building, is ascended by a bestial skeleton. Possibly fresh from a hidden closet, the bony remains are headed for the capitol’s inner sanctum of vaulted ceilings and cathedral windows.

MarkingsSigned Amy Worthen lower right corner below print

Locations