Paradise Dracula
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
lithograph (stone) in gray on uncalendered Rives paper
Dimensions
image: 7.5 x 7 cm (2 15/16 x 2 3/4 in.) sheet: 38.1 x 35.5 cm (15 x 14 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Dorothy J. and Benjamin B. Smith
Accession Number
1983.18.251
Art Historical Context
Billy Al Bengston's *Paradise Dracula* (1968) is a captivating lithograph that exemplifies the artist's playful fusion of organic motifs and pop culture flair during the vibrant Los Angeles art scene of the 1960s. Printed in a single shade of gray on uncaled Rives paper—a, heavyweight stock prized for its ability to capture the nuanced grain of the lithographic stone—this intimate work features a diminutive image measuring just 7.5 x 7 cm, centered on a generous 38.1 x 35.5 cm sheet. The contrast between the tiny, evocative central composition and the expansive paper invites viewers to lean in...
About the Artist
Billy Al Bengston
Billy Al Bengston, born on June 7, 1934, in Dodge City, Kansas, embodied the sun-soaked, rebellious spirit of postwar Los Angeles after his family relocated there in 1948. His artistic training began at Los Angeles City College in 1952, where he studied ceramics under Bernard Kester. He then pursued painting under Richard Diebenkorn and Saburo Hasegawa at the California College of Arts and Crafts ...