June Wayne - Songs and Sonets

In this series of fifteen lithograph prints by artist June Wayne (American, 1918-2011), images are accompanied by selections from the love poems that inspired them. Wayne’s lithographs translate sonnets by 17th-century English poet John Donne into expressive visual forms. Several works feature intertwined couples nearly dissolving into starry skyscapes to indicate interconnections between bodies, souls, and the larger cosmos as expressed in Donne's poetry.

Recognized for her artistic innovations in the Songs and Sonets portfolio, Wayne earned a 1960 Ford Foundation grant to establish the Tamarind Lithography Workshop in Los Angeles. The workshop encouraged collaboration between artists and expert printmakers and revitalized interest in lithography as a prominent artistic medium in the United States. The program, now known as the Tamarind Institute, continues today at the University of New Mexico.

All works in the exhibition are from the portfolio Songs and Sonets, 1959, gifted by Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin D. Smith.

Exhibition is curated by Sharrissa Iqbal, Associate Curator, Modern & Contemporary Art, Palm Springs Art Museum.