Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is an ink print by Esphyr Slobodkina. It dates from 1997 and is held in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
About this work
The artist used a technique called lithography, which lets them print detailed lines and textures.
This drawing shows a busy boat building scene. You see a mix of ramps, boats, and workers’ hands—all drawn in sharp, angular lines. The shapes overlap in a way that makes the whole scene feel layered and active, like a puzzle.
The artist used a technique called lithography, which lets them print detailed lines and textures. The title is just *Untitled*, but the date, 1997, is signed in the corner.
Check out lithography to see how artists use it to create prints like this one.
Overview
Created in 1997, this untitled lithograph belongs to a series of forty prints produced by Esphyr Slobodkina, a Russian‑born artist who built a career in the United States as a painter, designer and illustrator. The work is part of the Museum of Modern Art’s permanent collection, reflecting Slobodkina’s continued engagement with printmaking late in her career.
Subject & Meaning
The image depicts a bustling shipyard where ramps, hulls and the hands of laborers intersect in a tightly packed composition. Overlapping angular forms generate a sense of movement and layered activity, suggesting the coordinated effort of construction while abstracting the scene into a visual puzzle of line and shape.
Technique & Style
Executed in lithography, the print exploits the medium’s capacity for fine, crisp lines and subtle textural variation. Slobodkina’s use of sharp, intersecting angles and overlapping planes creates a dynamic rhythm, while the monochromatic palette emphasizes structural detail over color, aligning the work with mid‑century modernist tendencies.
History & Provenance
The lithograph was produced as part of a limited portfolio of forty prints, each signed and dated by the artist in the lower corner. After its creation, the piece entered the collection of the Museum of Modern Art, where it remains on view as an example of Slobodkina’s print practice during the final decade of her life.
Artist & collection
Artist
Esphyr Solomonovna Slobodkina (Russian: Эсфирь Соломоновна Слободкина; September 22, 1908 – July 21, 2002) was a Russian-born American artist, author, and illustrator, best known for her classic children's picture book Caps for Sale.
