Sides of a River I

1981

Bedford Series: Sides of a River I, 1981. Joan Mitchell (American, 1925–1992). Color lithograph; sheet: 108.2 x 82.5 cm (42 5/8 x 32 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Nancy F. and Joseph P. Keithley Collection Gift 2020.247 © Estate of Joan Mitchell Abstract painter Joan Mitchell’s monumental lithographs convey her experience of the landscape and combine the complexity, intensity, and fluidity of abstracted lines that are fundamental to her work. In this lithograph, part of her Bedford series, 1981, heavily abstracted, dense bands of colorretain traces of the natural world, which can be seen as riverbanks. The expressive, gestural color marks are balanced by the white of the sheet, which also acts as the source of light or reflection off the water. To make this print, Mitchell painted clear sheets of Mylar, which allowed her to layer colors for printing and retain a sense of immediacy.