Exotic Dancer

In a few animated lines William Gropper's etching Exotic Dancer captures the essence of an alluring performer through her composed stare, her erect posture, the graceful position of her leg, arms, and hands, the ruffles and pleats of her gown, and the calligraphic curls of her hair. Gropper's linear figurative style is as lilting as his subject, fully realized without any application of shading to model the woman's body. The open space of the print is as significant as the spare lines, allowing the viewer to infer forms not explicitly drawn, such as the woman's torso. Both Exotic Dancer and Gropper's Hassid Dancing (TF 2004.14) celebrate an expressive performing art and physical activity that helps to define cultural life.

In the mid-1960s Gropper took up etching, a medium in which he had not worked since the mid-1920s. A powerful draftsman, he enjoyed the challenge of sketching freely on the plate, as he did here, without any pre-conceived notion of what would result. In this late stage of his career, works such as this and his print Faith (TF 2004.12) demonstrate Gropper's interest in the human form independent of concern for social issues.

Sorini, Emiliano. Gropper - Catalogue Raisonné of the Etchings. San Francisco: Alan Wofsy Fine Arts, 1998. No. 76 (first version), p. 76.