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Label Text Arneson created his self-portrait "blueprint by inking his thumb with blue paint and pressing it repeatedly on paper. His self-portrait is based on the principle that each human being's fingerprint pattern is unique.
Exhibition History"Portraits and Self-Portraits of Artist," Des Moines Art Center, Des Moines, Iowa, Aug. 6 - Sept. 26, 1999

"Styles of the Times: The 1960s," Des Moines Art Center, Des Moines, Iowa, May 1 - June 28, 1998
Published ReferencesDES MOINES ART CENTER: SELECTED PAINTINGS, SCULPTURES AND WORKS ON PAPER, a catalog of selections from the permanent collections published in 1985, cat. ref. p.23
DimensionsSheet: 20 × 26 in. (50.8 × 66 cm)
Image: 15 1/8 × 21 3/16 in. (38.4 × 53.8 cm)
Accession Number 1977.11
Classificationswork on paper
CopyrightARS
InscriptionsArneson '68 (l/r)
ProvenanceArtist. Mr. and Mrs. Frank Kolodny, Morristown, New Jersey [acquired by 1977]; Des Moines Art Center [gift of the previous, 1977]
Blueprint for a Self portrait
Photo Credit: Rich Sanders, Des Moines
Photo Credit: Rich Sanders, Des Moines