Figure 9

Jasper Johns

Lithograph

National Gallery of Art

Jasper Johns turns a familiar numeral into a radiant study of color, edge, and repetition. The large white 9 seems to hover within a stacked field of red, orange, green, and violet, giving the print both graphic clarity and a handmade, painterly vibration. A central figure of American postwar art, Johns is known for elevating ordinary signs into images that feel at once playful, analytical, and deeply iconic. This is a bold, contemporary piece for a wall that wants a little wit, visual energy, and art-historical gravitas.