Stanley William Hayter
English, 1901 - 1988Matérnité ailée (Winged Maternity), 1948
Not on view
Color viscosity print with soft-ground etching and areas of deep intaglio printing as white relief, retouched with white gouache
Dimensions13 1/2 × 7 7/8 in. (34.3 × 20 cm)
Museum purchase, 2010.291
Born in London in 1901, Stanley William Hayter started his professional career as a chemist, although he painted in his spare time. After the success of an exhibition of his paintings in 1926 he abandoned his career in science and moved to Paris to study art full time. His scientific curiosity led him away from painting and toward the graphic arts. Within months of moving to Paris, Hayter had made friends with engraver Joseph Hecht who introduced him to the basic techniques of aquatint, etching, woodcut, drypoint, and lithography.
Later that year he had his first exhibition of prints. It was successful and resulted in several artists asking for him to teach them how to make prints, to which he agreed and set up a small studio in
his apartment. This was the beginning of Hayter’s six decade long career as a champion and innovator of printmaking.
