Vida Hackman’s prints capture the essence of natural forms through her masterful command of etching, aquatint, and woodcut techniques, rendering landscapes and botanical subjects with remarkable attention to texture and tonal variation. Working primarily in the mid-to-late 20th century, Hackman belonged to a generation of American printmakers who, alongside contemporaries, reimagined traditional printmaking methods. Her careful manipulation of ink density and plate surfaces creates atmospheric effects—mist rising from water, light filtering through foliage—that reveal new details with each viewing. The layered quality of her work, the physical process of building an image through multiple press runs, acts as a metaphor for the way memory accumulates impressions of a place over time. These prints offer intimate encounters with environments both observed and imagined, showing how patient technical skill can transform simple copper plates and wood blocks into windows onto the natural world.

1976
Lithograph
31.5" h x 50.5" w

Artwork donated by Dr. & Mrs. Michael Robbins