Under a Glass Bell

Ian Hugo

Though editioned at 50, each impression of "Under a Glass Bell" is printed differently. Hugo started engraving at Atelier 17 in New York and the experimental nature of the atelier continued through to his work with Anais.

A portion of the imagery of this engraving with soft-ground etching was used as the cover illustration for Hugo's wife Anais Nin’s book "Under A Glass Bell."Hugo provided the images used in many of Nin's publications, which they published themselves.

The composition itself challenges the viewer, it is like a view of the deep sea with strange life-forms, emmitting their own light, drifting around as small amoebic forms create a subtle border. As the viewer's eyes adjust more forms come into view.

"Under a Glass Bell" is now considered one of Anaïs Nin’s finest collections of stories, it was initially deemed unpublishable. Refusing to give up on her vision, in 1944 Nin founded her own press and brought out the first edition, illustrated with striking black-and-white engravings by her husband, Hugh Guiler (Ian Hugo). Shortly thereafter, it caught the attention of literary critic Edmund Wilson, who reviewed the collection in the New Yorker. The first printing sold out in three weeks.