Iris and Orchid from Les Fleurs du Mal
Lowell Nesbitt, American, 1933 - 1993
1974
Color lithograph
Image: 24 1/2 × 36 1/2 in. (62.2 × 92.7 cm)
Sheet: 28 × 40 in. (71.1 × 101.6 cm)
Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth: Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Archie van Elsander
PR.979.149.3
Publisher
Editions Press, San Francisco, California
Geography
Place Made: United States, North America
Period
20th century
Object Name
Research Area
On view
Label
Lowell Nesbitt isolates the iris and orchid, inviting us to linger and appreciate their grace. The bold comparison upends expectations—neither a bouquet nor a scientific botanical specimen, Nesbitt’s print creates a visual dialogue between color and form to emphasize the uniqueness of each flower.
This print is part of a larger portfolio titled Les Fleurs du Mal [The Flowers of Evil], named after Charles Baudelaire’s erotic and decadent poems first published in 1857. By referencing Baudelaire, Nesbitt also alludes to flowers as a plant’s reproductive organs and emphasizes their sexual connotations.
From the 2024 exhibition Beyond the Bouquet: Arranging Flowers in American Art, curated by Michael Hartman, Jonathan Little Cohen Associate Curator of American Art
Exhibition History
Beyond the Bouquet: Arranging Flowers in American Art, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, March 12, 2025 - late 2025.
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