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Blonde

Artist Kenneth Noland (American, 1924 - 2010)

CultureAmerican

Date1965

MediumAcrylic on unprimed canvas

Dimensions86 x 86 in. (218.4 x 218.4 cm)
61 1/4 x 61 x 1 1/2 in. (155.6 x 154.9 x 3.8 cm)

InscribedSigned, titled and dated on reverse: "Kenneth Noland, 1965"

Credit LineGift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.

Object number71.684

Collections

Modern and Contemporary

On View

Not on view

DescriptionAcrylic on canvas painting; diamond-shape canvas with edge points turned forty-five degrees. White is the dominant color on the left half of the painting and top and bottom corners; green, orange and brown overlapping squares fill the right-hand corner.
Label TextKenneth Noland American, 1924–2010 Blonde, 1965 Acrylic on unprimed canvas Why do you suppose this artist turned his painting on its side? By creating diamond-shaped canvases, Kenneth Noland dismissed expectations that paintings should be rectangular while playing with the tension between the painted surfaces and the outer edges of his works. Look closely to see how the paint has soaked into the weave of his unprimed canvas, softening the geometric design. Then notice how the rigid shapes force your attention to the interaction of the different colors. Look a little longer and these formal tensions become absorbing. Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. 71.684 Exhibition History"Three Hundred Years of American Art in the Chrysler Museum," Chrysler Museum at Norfolk, Va., March 1 - July 4, 1976. Published ReferencesClaudine Humblet, _La Nouvelle Abstraction Américaine 1950-1970_ I (Switzerland: Skira/Seuil, 2003), 624.