Birds

Elizabeth Murray

1991

An etching and monotype print in which Elizabeth Murray compresses looping, tubular forms and playful, slightly anatomical shapes into a compact scene inhabited by two whimsical birds, exploring movement, color, and bodily suggestion.

Dense cross-hatching and a velvety dark ground make the rust-colored, maze-like tubes and a glowing orange orb read like a small, animated stage, while two stylized birds punctuate the composition with a comic, lively presence.

The print translates Murray’s trademark mix of cartoonish figuration and sculptural abstraction into printmaking, showing how late 20th‑century artists expanded prints as a primary site for painterly and formal experimentation.

Palette

Art Terms

Etching Monotype Print Abstraction Figurative Biomorphic Contemporary art

Exhibitions

Committed to Print

1988

Some Contemporary Prints

1983

Silk Screen Prints Under $10

1941

A Penthouse Aviary

1980