About John & Geraldine Lilley Museum of Art

Artist: Robert Allan Cale (American, 1940-1990)

Robert Allan Cale was a contemporary visual artist known for printmaking. He studied at RISD and later apprenticed under Stanley Hayter at his Atelier 17, Paris where he learned the technique of viscosity painting, which strongly influenced his art. Cale went on to experiment with varying special effects and became especially known for images of fish that capture unique forms and textures. Cale was influenced by the Japanese art form of Gyotaku, where actual specimens are inked and then damp paper is pressed on top of them to capture their form and texture—literally “fish rubbings.” Thus, Cale became a pioneer of fish printing in America, experimenting with all kinds of special effects, including multiple images of fish on a single sheet of paper.

Cale taught at Pratt Institute, New York City; Trinity College, Hartford, CT; Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts, Old Lyme, CT; and at his own Stonington Print Workshop, CT. He exhibited nationally and internationally at institutions including the Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C., and the Louvre, Paris. His works are held by the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris; Library of Congress, Washington, DC; Minneapolis Institute of Art, MN; Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, MI; and Yale University, New Haven, CT, among others.

Sunflower by Robert Allan Cale, Image 2.

Robert Allan Cale
Sunflower, 1976

Intaglio

12 x 24 in

John & Geraldine Lilley Museum of Art

Reno, Nevada

Artist: Robert Allan Cale (American, 1940-1990)