Navajo Lookout
1917-1919
Medium
etching in black on laid paper
Dimensions
plate: 14.92 × 22.54 cm (5 7/8 × 8 7/8 in.) sheet: 20.48 × 27.94 cm (8 1/16 × 11 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Corcoran Collection (Museum Purchase, Mary E. Maxwell Fund)
Accession Number
2015.19.373
Art Historical Context
**Navajo Lookout**, an etching created by American artist Mahonri Mackintosh Young between 1917 and 1919, captures the rugged spirit of the American Southwest. Young, a realist sculptor and printmaker renowned for his depictions of everyday life and Western landscapes, drew inspiration from his travels through Utah and Navajo territories. This intimate plate (5 7/8 × 8 7/8 in.) on laid paper evokes the vast, dramatic vistas of the region, likely portraying a watchful Navajo figure amid stark terrain—a nod to the cultural encounters of early 20th-century America. Etching's precision suited You...