To have our mother’s art featured on stamps is the highest honour,” says Addie Lanier, daughter of Ruth Asawa, speaking about a new collection of 10 designs issued last week.
Born in 1926, the Japanese-American sculptor spent much of the second world war with her family in an internment camp. Later, her race stopped her becoming a teacher. Even after her artistic talent was nurtured by Josef Albers following the war, it wasn’t until the 2000s that Asawa’s woven metal structures were acknowledged as masterpieces. Asawa died in 2013. “She believed art is for everyone,” says Lanier. “And these stamps will bring her work into homes across the country.”
