December Irises

Patricia Tobacco Forrester

In this glowing intaglio print, Patricia Tobacco Forrester applies ink a la poupee, which translates from the French as “with the doll,” referring to the ball-shaped bundle of fabric used to apply the color to a single plate before printing. This is a delicate process and the desired outcome is one of tonal, layered hues, like a watercolor. Forrester accomplishes this effect deftly in her portrayal of purple irises growing out of a lush winter thicket.

Patricia Tobacco Forrester, printmaker and painter, was born on September 17th, 1940, in Northampton, Massachusetts. She began her formal art education at Smith College, studying under printmaker Leonard Baskin. There she received her BA degree in 1962. She then enrolled at Yale University, studying under Chuck Close, Philip Pearlstein, Alex Katz, and Janet Fish. She received her BFA in 1963 and MFA in 1965. In 1967, she received a Guggenheim Fellowship, and soon thereafter she began traveling, studying the landscapes of the tropical continents she visited. In 1992 she became a member of the National Academy of Design in New York.