Granite Tor

Artist/Maker Norma Morgan (American, 1928 – 2017)

Publisher International Graphic Arts Society (active New York, c.1950 – c.1973)

Date1955

MediumEngraving and aquatint

DimensionsComposition: 14 1/2 × 17 13/16 in. (36.8 × 45.2 cm) Plate: 14 1/2 × 17 13/16 in. (36.8 × 45.2 cm) Sheet: 17 × 19 3/4 in. (43.2 × 50.2 cm)

Credit LineGift of Elbert Lenrow, Class of 1923

Object number1984.234

Not on view

DescriptionAs an artist, Norma Morgan found inspiration in the facets and features of various landscapes. Granite Tor was based on granite outcroppings that the artist visited on Bodmin Moor in Cornwall. Morgan’s engraving depicts the isolated granite protrusion as a standing monument with dark and detailed crevices. In all of her engravings, Morgan actively sought to “achieve a sense of isolation, erosion and antiquity.” Granite Tor was awarded the first purchase prize at the annual print show in Philadelphia in 1955, after which it was accepted into the collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Another impression of the print was acquired by the Museum of Modern Art in New York and was then included in the exhibition “Art Since 1945” that was shown at Documenta II in Kassel, Germany. In an article from the periodical The Artist titled “Engraving”, Morgan discussed her personal techniques in depth, including how she approached Granite Tor. She used multiple techniques to create the print’s textural rocky landscape and light and airy sky, the latter of which Andrew Raftery noted would have “taken days or even weeks” to stipple “dot by dot.”

Collections

American Art

Additional Details

Provenance 1984: Hamilton College (Fred L. Emerson Gallery), by gift of Elbert Lenrow.

Signature Signed and dated in pencil at lower right: Norma Morgan 1955; initialed and dated in plate at lower right: NM / 1954

Inscribed Entitled in pencil at lower center: Granite Tor; editioned in pencil at lower left: 13/200; inscribed in pencil on verso at lower left: Engraving / 14: Je 55