A print of a stylized figure on white paper, with overlaid watercolor shapes. At center is a bearded figure dressed in armor, bent forward slightly, head turned to look over his right shoulder. His figure is simply rendered in black outlines and soft-textured shading. Some of the outlines are formed by negative space in the dark shading. Two wavy watercolor shapes, like abstract figurative silhouettes, overlap him at each side. These shapes are the same height as the figure. To the left is a blue figure, with a blue circle between the heads of the blue figure and the central figure. To the right is a light brown figure. The soft watercolor brushstrokes create slight variations in color.

There are 2 other images of this object. See our image rights statement.

Object Timeline

1930	Work on this object began.
1963	We acquired this object.
2015	We photographed this object.
2019	We photographed this object. We photographed this object.
2021	We exhibited this object.
2024	You found it!

Print, Study for Don Quixote

This is a Print. It was written by Miguel de Cervantes and designed by E. McKnight Kauffer and published by Nonesuch Press and printed by The Curwen Press. It is dated 1930 and we acquired it in 1963. Its medium is lithograph with hand-colored additions in brush and brown and blue watercolor. It is a part of the Drawings, Prints, and Graphic Design department.

For his illustrations of Don Quixote, Kauffer expressed the psychological unraveling of the protagonist as he assumes the persona of a knight and undertakes a quest of honor and love. Kauffer’s own struggle with the project’s deadlines echoed the emotional collapse of Don Quixote. He wrote in a 1928 letter to a friend, “In the meantime my ‘Quixote’ remains a dream. Poor fellow he lies in a heap—of only lines and . . . patterns—none of them yet put together.”

This object was donated by Mrs. Edward McKnight Kauffer. It is credited Gift of Mrs. E. McKnight Kauffer.

Its dimensions are

22.9 × 13.3 cm (9 in. × 5 1/4 in.)

Cite this object as

Print, Study for Don Quixote; Written by Miguel de Cervantes (Spanish, 1547–1616); Designed by Edward McKnight Kauffer (American, active England, 1890–1954); Printed by The Curwen Press (United Kingdom); Published by Nonesuch Press; USA; lithograph with hand-colored additions in brush and brown and blue watercolor; 22.9 × 13.3 cm (9 in. × 5 1/4 in.); Gift of Mrs. E. McKnight Kauffer; 1963-39-351-b

This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition Underground Modernist: E. McKnight Kauffer.

Short URL http://cprhw.tt/o/2CxTp/
Accession Number 1963-39-351-b
Object ID 18447793