Study for Dialogue
John Wilson
(American, 1922–2015)
1955/1963
Medium/TechniqueMixed media on paper
DimensionsFramed: 45.4 x 31.4 cm (17 7/8 x 12 3/8 in.)
Sheet: 28.5 x 14.7 cm (11 1/4 x 5 13/16 in.)
Sheet: 28.5 x 14.7 cm (11 1/4 x 5 13/16 in.)
Credit LineA. Shuman Collection—Abraham Shuman Fund
Accession number2013.818
On View
Not on viewClassificationsDrawings
Collections
Wilson began this drawing in Mexico City as a preparatory study for his 1955 lithograph Dialogue. He would have used it as a guide when drawing the composition in greasy crayon on his lithographic stone. (The image is reversed through the printing process.) Eight years later, while living in New York, he returned to this sheet and made a number of alterations, most notably removing the figure of the crouching beggar.
InscriptionsIn black ink, l.l.: John Wilson 1963; in graphite, verso: deacidified; stamped in black ink: Sold with the reservation that all reproduction rights to this work of art belong to the artist, John WilsonProvenanceThe artist; on consignment to Martha Richardson Fine Art, Boston; 2013, sold by Martha Richardson Fine Art to the MFA, Boston. (Accession date: June 23, 2013)CopyrightEstate of John Wilson
