Zabrisky (sic) Point Death Valley

Anders Gustave Aldrin

Zabriskie Point is a part of the Amargosa Range located east of Death Valley in Death Valley National Park in California and is noted for its volcanic, erosional landscape which inspired Aldrin for the composition of color woodcut monoprint.

Aldrin printed each impression of his California woodcuts in different color combinations, much like Arthur Dow had done. Each impression is unique, hence the "monoprint" designation. Many of Aldrin's color woodcuts are listed by the Newark Museum as having been done in the California W.P.A. and allocated to the museum during the project, though Alders denied working in the project. We have used Newark's allocation number for reference.

Painter, printmaker, and sculptor, Aldrin was born in Värmland, Sweden. He immigrated to the U.S. in 1911, settling in Minnesota. By 1923 he had relocated in Southern California and began his studies at the Otis Art Institute where he received the Huntington Assistance Award and a full scholarship to the Santa Barbara School of Art. He learned the techniques of the Japanese color woodcut from Frank Morley Fletcher.

In 1928, he studied for six months at the California School of Fine Arts in San Francisco before settling permanently in Los Angeles. That same year Aldrin made his first color woodcut, possibly through the WPA, and continued to experiment with the medium until 1937.