Photograph by Ed Pollard, Hasselblad H4D50 - 2010.

Nudes by a River

Artist David Park (American, 1911-1960)

Date1954

MediumOil on canvas

DimensionsOverall: 60 x 48 in. (152.4 x 121.9 cm)
Overall, Frame: 60 1/2 x 48 3/4 in. (153.7 x 122.6 cm)

ClassificationsModern art

Credit LineGift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.

Object number71.2246

Terms

Man
Woman
Nude
River
Green
Yellow
Tan
Nude
Blue
Black
San Francisco, CA

Collections

Modern and Contemporary

On View

Not on view

DescriptionThis is an oil on canvas painting of two figures. In the foreground, a nude woman faces left, one arm behind her waist and holding the other elbow. She appears to be on land. To the right, a nude man stands with his back to the viewer, with his left hand on his hip. He is knee-deep in the river, and looks down at the water.

Label TextDavid Park American, 1911–1960 Nudes by a River, 1954 Oil on canvas In Nudes by a River, David Park depicts bathers—a traditional subject with a prominent place in Western art history—but his subtle handling of space gives the painting an uneasy mood. Notice how Park’s use of multiple light sources and jagged areas of color leave each figure isolated. In 1949, Park abandoned a carload of his abstract paintings at the Berkeley city dump and painted the human figure for the rest of his life. Spurred by Park’s rejection of Abstract Expressionism, other San Francisco Bay area artists joined him in a wider renewal of figure painting. Walter P. Chrysler, Jr., after whom this museum is named, was one of the movement’s earliest supporters, and by 1957 he owned six of Park’s new paintings. Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. 71.2246