Lynn Shaler

Lynn Shaler is an American artist internationally known for her color aquatint etchings. Many of her etchings have been inspired by locations in the city of Paris where she has lived for over 30 years.  Lynn Shaler: Fine Prints 1972-2017 documents Shaler’s 250 fine prints and includes essays about her work, her technique, and her life.  The book includes images and information on all of the fine prints she has created since 1972.

Shaler’s etchings have evolved in both subject matter and technique since her early works ofobjects like doorknobs, clocks, theater exits, stacksof plates, and shoes.  Today her interior etchings are often of a finely furnished interior, an open doorway, a balcony or open window looking out on the city of Paris, or a beautifully lit staircase. Her exterior etchings include both day and evening scenes that capture the essence of neighborhood streets, buildings, bridges, and reflections on the Seine. Many of her works also feature a dog, a cat, umbrella(s) and/or a lady in a red/pink coat. The majority of her works are made with multiple plates and many are, at least in part, hand-colored. She creates the majority of her etchings with three or four copper plates, using the techniques of hard-ground line and aquatint; many are finished with hand-colored highlights. The resulting prints are beautifully detailed and rich in color with subtle variations in tone. 

Shaler’s work can be found in the collections of the Bibliothèque Nationale (Paris), the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York), the Library of Congress (Washington D.C.), and the Victoria and Albert Museum (London).  She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Michigan in 1977, and a Master of Fine Arts degree from the Pratt Institute in 1979. In 1984, she was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to pursue post-graduate study in printmaking at Atelier 17 in Paris. Lynn Shaler has won many awards for her work, including The Marie and Léon Navier Prize from the Taylor Foundation in
Paris, 2019.