Anthurium IV, from The Peterdi Years: Alumni Portfolio Artist: Judith Bernstein (American, born 1942, B.F.A. 1967, M.F.A. 1967)

1982–83

Prints and Drawings

Judith Bernstein’s Anthurium IV offers an unexpected vantage on the anthurium, a common houseplant with waxy red leaves and a prominent spadix, or stalk. The artist etched the outline of the flower in sweeping, calligraphic strokes against an atmospheric, aquatinted background. In Bernstein’s work, the anthurium is a metaphor for the complexities of sexuality, power, and gender—issues that have long preoccupied her. At left, the spadix, massively enlarged, forcefully juts up through the composition. Despite its phallic shape, the anthurium spadix is a carrier for numerous tiny flowers, each containing both male and female structures. This tension between appearances and anatomical subtleties allows Bernstein to make a nuanced, yet unsparing critique of masculinist violence.

Medium

Etching and aquatint

Dimensions

image: 8 × 7 13/16 in. (20.3 × 19.9 cm)
sheet: 29 7/8 × 22 1/4 in. (75.9 × 56.5 cm)

Credit Line

Art School Transfer

Accession Number

1987.12.6

Culture
Period

20th century

Classification
Disclaimer

Note: This electronic record was created from historic documentation that does not necessarily reflect the Yale University Art Gallery’s complete or current knowledge about the object. Review and updating of records is ongoing.

Bibliography
  • Lisa Hodermarsky et al., On the Basis of Art: 150 Years of Women at Yale, exh. cat. (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Art Gallery, 2021), 14, 72, 120–21, 155, no. 19, fig. 1
Object copyright
Additional information

Object/Work type

etchings

Subject

Women artists

Edition

Edition 12 of 25

Marks

watermark=ARCHES

Inscriptions

In graphite across top of support: 12/25 Anthurium IV Judith Bernstein; Verso in graphite across page near top: Judith Berstein 1982-83

Technical metadata and APIs

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