The Blue Print series comprises 15 prints—mostly of young girls and several taken from fairy tales and other literature—that reveal artistic interests ranging from Northern European old masters to Victorian art, including Currier and Ives prints, costume photography, and children’s books. One of the first to be completed was “Emily D,” in which Smith conflates many 19th-century elements: the gruesome tale of Lizzie Borden, Longfellow’s nursery rhyme about the horrid little girl with the curl on her forehead, and the poetry of Emily Dickinson. . . .The Blue Print series, with its overall Prussian-blue palette, conjures a sense of nostalgia, romance, and melancholy. It is a technically complex suite, employing etching, aquatint, and drypoint to achieve both delicate line work and subtle, grainy textures.

This object has the following keywords:

• 20th-century American
• Print
• Work on paper

This object was included in the following exhibitions:

• Modernist Masters, Contemporary Icons: Highlights from the Old Jail Art Center The Rockwell Museum , 2/3/2017 - 4/23/2017
• The Ruby Portfolio , 2/22/2020 - 8/22/2020

This object has the following bibliographic references:

• James Peck and Patrick Kelly. Old Jail Art Center Catalogue. Old Jail Art Center. Albany, 2016
  Page Number: 95

This object is a member of the following portfolios: