Isabel Bishop (American 1902-1988)

Illustrations of the Human Form

From the late 1930’s to the 1960’s Isabel Bishop was one of New York City’s leading printmakers. Bishop both studied at, and taught at, the Art Students League in New York and made her home and studio in the heart of the bustling urban scene. The work of Isabel Bishop focuses entirely on the depiction of figures. Singularly or in groups, Bishops characters are often anonymous, often alone in a crowd, and often engaged in the mundane movements of everyday life, such as taking on or off a coat. All of Bishop’s pre-1960 prints are etchings. Around this time she had a major shift in style and composition with the introduction of aquatint to her works. Bishop’s later work moved ever so slightly toward abstraction of environment, yet remained committed to the illustration of human forms.

• Related Links: American Prints