Frank Stella has been a major figure of American art since the 1950s. The Swan Engraving Series, made in collaboration with master-printmaker Ken Tyler, created a new relationship between the large painted relief works for which he is known, and his prints. The printing plates were created from the scrap material from a series of sheet-metal reliefs, titled Circuits, which Stella had recently completed. Stella used off-cuts from the reliefs and freshly cut shapes, and found commercial printing plates. The title comes from the Swan Engraving factory where this additional material was gathered.