Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is an ink print by Lynette Yiadom-Boakye. It dates from 2012 and is held in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
About this work
Overview
Untitled is one of twenty etchings produced by Lynette Yiadom-Boakye in 2012. Part of a cohesive series, the work belongs to The Museum of Modern Art’s collection. Unlike her painted figures, this piece employs fine linear etching to render a solitary male subject with precision and quiet intensity. The medium’s capacity for subtle tonal variation supports a restrained, contemplative mood.
Subject & Meaning
The portrait presents a man with dark, closely cropped hair and a full, neatly trimmed beard. His gaze meets the viewer directly, conveying neither emotion nor narrative, but an unyielding presence. Yiadom-Boakye’s subjects are invented, not drawn from life, and this figure exists outside specific time or identity, inviting reflection on representation rather than biography.
Technique & Style
Rendered in etching, the work uses fine, deliberate lines to model form and texture. The light background contrasts sharply with the subject’s dark features, enhancing three-dimensionality. Shading is achieved through cross-hatching and delicate line weight, not wash or tone, emphasizing the artist’s control over the plate and the medium’s capacity for nuanced expression.
History & Provenance
Created in 2012, Untitled entered The Museum of Modern Art’s collection shortly after its production. It belongs to a limited series of twenty etchings, all made during a period when Yiadom-Boakye was expanding her practice beyond painting. The work’s acquisition reflects institutional recognition of her contribution to contemporary printmaking and portraiture.
Context
These works resist stereotypical narratives, instead offering composed, timeless visages that assert dignity through absence of explicit story.
Yiadom-Boakye’s etchings emerged alongside her painted portraits, both challenging traditional Western portraiture by centering Black figures without historical or social context. These works resist stereotypical narratives, instead offering composed, timeless visages that assert dignity through absence of explicit story. The series aligns with broader contemporary inquiries into identity and representation.
Legacy
The etching series has contributed to renewed interest in printmaking as a vehicle for contemporary portraiture. Yiadom-Boakye’s approach—favoring invented figures over documented subjects—has influenced younger artists to reconsider the possibilities of the portrait beyond documentation. Untitled remains a quiet but significant example of her sustained engagement with the medium.
Artist & collection
Artist
Lynette Yiadom-Boakye is a British painter and writer of Ghanaian heritage. She is best known for her portraits of imaginary subjects, or ones derived from found objects, which are painted in muted colours. Her work has…
