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Ukrainian-born painter and printmaker Jacques Hnizdovsky created witty, patterned, meticulously cut depictions of animals and natural forms like this woodcut of a sleeping cat—its abstract striped pattern arranged within its oval-shaped body. The MFA holds many works on paper by Hnizdovsky, spanning his career from 1944–1985. We chose to display this print as it epitomizes a form of rest, the "cat nap"—we’d like to curl up next to it and take a quick nap, but we understand you might not feel the same if you’re allergic!
Sleeping Cat
Jacques Hnizdovsky (American (born in Ukraine), 1915–1985)
Published by: Associated American Artists, New York
Published by: Associated American Artists, New York
1970
Medium/Technique
Woodcut
Dimensions
Block: 22.9 × 27.6 cm (9 × 10 7/8 in.)
Sheet: 31.5 × 32.2 cm (12 3/8 × 12 11/16 in.)
Sheet: 31.5 × 32.2 cm (12 3/8 × 12 11/16 in.)
Credit Line
Fund in memory of Horatio Greenough Curtis
Accession Number2018.3167
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsContemporary Art, Americas, Prints and Drawings
ClassificationsPrints
Ukrainian-born painter and printmaker Jacques Hnizdovsky created witty, patterned, meticulously cut depictions of animals and natural forms like this woodcut of a sleeping cat—its abstract striped pattern arranged within its oval-shaped body. The MFA holds many works on paper by Hnizdovsky, spanning his career from 1944–1985. We chose to display this print as it epitomizes a form of rest, the "cat nap"—we’d like to curl up next to it and take a quick nap, but we understand you might not feel the same if you’re allergic!
Catalogue Raisonné
Tahir 092
InscriptionsIn graphite, below: Hnizdovsky 1970, Sleeping Cat 61/250
Provenance2018, sold by Edward T. Pollack Fine Arts, Portland, ME to the MFA. (Accession Date: December 12, 2018)
Copyright© 2023 Hnizdovsky Trust / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.