Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is an ink print by Anne Goldthwaite. It dates from 1933 and is held in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
About this work
Overview
Created around 1933, this lithograph by Anne Goldthwaite is part of The Museum of Modern Art’s print collection. Executed in a spontaneous, sketch-like manner, it captures a seated female figure with minimal detail and fluid lines. The work is signed and labeled 'Nude' by the artist, reflecting its direct, unadorned approach to the human form.
Subject & Meaning
The figure is a woman seated with legs drawn to one side, arms resting gently on her knees, and gaze fixed forward. Her posture suggests stillness rather than pose, avoiding theatricality. The absence of context or ornamentation focuses attention on the quiet presence of the body, emphasizing introspection over narrative.
Technique & Style
Lithography allowed Goldthwaite to achieve soft, tonal gradations with a hand-drawn quality. Lines are loose and rapid, conveying movement and immediacy. Shading is subtle, used sparingly to suggest volume in the torso and hair, while the paper’s texture enhances the sense of a fleeting observation rather than a polished study.
History & Provenance
The work entered The Museum of Modern Art’s collection as part of its early commitment to modern American prints. Its date aligns with Goldthwaite’s active period in the 1930s, when she explored figural subjects through printmaking. No earlier ownership records are publicly documented, suggesting it was likely retained by the artist or acquired directly from her studio.
Context
During the early 1930s, American artists increasingly turned to intimate, personal subjects amid economic hardship and shifting cultural values. Goldthwaite’s focus on the nude, rendered without idealization, reflects a broader trend toward honest, unembellished representation in regionalist and modernist circles.
Legacy
This lithograph exemplifies Goldthwaite’s quiet contribution to American printmaking, where sensitivity to form and restraint in technique distinguished her work. Though not widely exhibited, it remains a representative example of how female artists of the era engaged with the nude as a subject of contemplation rather than spectacle.
Artist & collection
Artist
Anne Goldthwaite was an American painter and printmaker and an advocate of women's rights and equal rights.
