Untitled
Polk Smith arrived in New York from his native Oklahoma in 1936 and, thanks to an early encounter with the work of the Dutch painter Piet Mondrian (1872–1944), began to develop his own distinctive style of geometric abstraction. Between 1956 and 1964 he produced a group of uncharacteristically gestural drawings, consisting simply of ripped and scraped sheets of coated paper. By tearing the black sheet in one continuous, irregular line, and revealing the white, uncoated layer underneath, Polk Smith created a dramatic image—like a bolt of lightning in a dark field—with one decisive stroke.
Artwork Details
- Title: Untitled
- Artist: Leon Polk Smith (American, Chickasha, Oklahoma 1906–1996 New York, New York)
- Date: 1957
- Medium: Black matte opaque paint on two joined sheets of paper mounted on board
- Dimensions: 18 × 18 in. (45.7 × 45.7 cm)
- Classification: Drawings
- Credit Line: Gift of Leon Polk Smith Foundation, 2011
- Object Number: 2011.370
- Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art
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