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The Beaten Path 2019

For 'The Beaten Path 2019', Washington Green published twelve hand-signed Bob Dylan prints in editions of 295, launched by Castle Fine Art on 17 May 2019. Eight standard-format and four medium-format prints gather bridges, Brooklyn streets, a Route 66 motel and a desert sunrise from his travels across the United States.

All The Beaten Path 2019 Works By Bob Dylan (26)

Significance & Analysis

'The Beaten Path 2019' was assembled as a selection rather than a fresh survey. It was presented as a gathering of Dylan's most pivotal images, and half of its twelve titles had already appeared as prints in 2016 or 2017, so the release reads as a distillation of the series' first years.

Dylan has explained how he chose his subjects: "I chose images because of the meanings they have for me and patterns can be seen in the repeating images." The 2019 selection makes those patterns easy to see. Three titles are bridges, 'Manhattan Bridge, Downtown New York', 'Under the Bridge' and 'Early Morning, Golden Gate Bridge', and others return to a motel, a farmyard, a depot and the streets of Brooklyn and Lower Manhattan.

Among the titles new to the prints, 'Blue Swallow Motel, Route. 66' shows a motel that has faced the old highway in Tucumcari, New Mexico, since 1942, and 'Joshua Tree, Sunrise' turns to the desert at dawn. Collectors responded quickly: within three weeks of the launch, 'Joshua Tree, Sunrise' and 'Brooklyn Heights' had sold out as individual prints.

Before and after

The release came 19 months after 'The Beaten Path 2017'. In between, 'The Drawn Blank Series 2018 (10th Anniversary)' had revisited images already editioned in Dylan's earlier series, and the 2019 selection took a similar look back at 'The Beaten Path'. The painting went on: that summer Halcyon Gallery in London showed new works from his ongoing series of American highways and byways. The next print chapter, 'The Beaten Path 2023', was half the size, a set of six. 'Joshua Tree, Sunrise' has since returned twice, both in 2026: as a print in 'The Beaten Path 2026' and as the silkscreen 'Joshua Tree, Sunrise Triptych II'.

What Formats and Sets Make Up The Beaten Path 2019?

The four medium-format prints are 'Brooklyn Heights', 'Little Italy, Lower Manhattan', 'New England Depot' and 'Wilton Iowa Farmyard'. The other eight, 'Blue Swallow Motel, Route. 66', 'Early Morning, Golden Gate Bridge', 'Joshua Tree, Sunrise', 'Little Factory for Ice Cream', 'Manhattan Bridge, Downtown New York', 'Myrtle Avenue, Brooklyn', 'Threatening Skies' and 'Under the Bridge', are standard format. Besides individual prints, framed or unframed, the release was offered as a set of the eight standard prints, a set of the four medium prints and a full set of all 12.

What Size Are The Beaten Path 2019 Prints?

Sizes vary within each format. Unframed, 'Joshua Tree, Sunrise' measures 58.4 x 41.9 cm and 'Manhattan Bridge, Downtown New York' 61 x 40 cm, and a framed 'Under the Bridge' measures 88 x 71 cm. Of the medium prints, 'Brooklyn Heights' and 'New England Depot' measure 85.7 x 59.7 cm unframed, 'Wilton Iowa Farmyard' 85.7 x 52.7 cm, and a framed 'Little Italy, Lower Manhattan' 114 x 91 cm. Every individual print is an edition of 295, with artist's and printer's proofs, and framing does not create a separate edition.

Which Titles in The Beaten Path 2019 Were Issued Before?

'Brooklyn Heights', 'Little Italy, Lower Manhattan', 'Manhattan Bridge, Downtown New York' and 'Wilton Iowa Farmyard' were first issued as giclées in 2016, and 'New England Depot' and 'Under the Bridge' in 2017. Several changed format along the way: 'Manhattan Bridge, Downtown New York' and 'Under the Bridge' were earlier medium prints and are standard size in 2019, while 'Brooklyn Heights', 'Wilton Iowa Farmyard' and 'New England Depot' moved from standard to medium. Each year is a separate edition, so match the year on the listing and certificate as well as the title.