Untitled
Artist
Adolph Gottlieb
(American, 1903-1974)
CultureAmerican
Dateca. 1968
MediumOil on canvas
DimensionsOverall: 18 x 14 in. (45.7 x 35.6 cm)
InscribedVerso: Adolph Gottlieb
Credit LineGift of Hugh Gordon Miller and Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.
Object number75.4.1
Not on view
DescriptionThis is an oil on canvas painting. The primary background color is red. There are two forms: a nearly spherical shape in a lighter orange-red shade, and below that a bursting black shape fills the bottom half of the painting.Label TextAdolph Gottlieb American, 1903–1974 Untitled, ca. 1968 Oil on canvas Adolph Gottlieb began a series of paintings like this one in the late 1950s, which he continued until the end of his life. Known as “bursts,” the paintings typically include a soft, disc-like form suspended above a writhing cluster of brushstrokes. The paired forms bring to mind a range of possible meanings—the sun and the earth, male and female, or order and chaos. They also bring together the two main strands of Abstract Expressionist art found throughout these galleries: the energetic gestures of action painting as seen in the dark marks below and the tonal hues of color field painting as seen in the orb above. Gift of Hugh Gordon Miller and Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. 75.4.1 ProvenanceRichard deKoster, New York, NY; Walter P. Chrysler, Jr., New York, NY; Gift of Hugh Gordon Miller and Walter P. Chrysler, Jr., 1975. Exhibition History"Three Hundred Years of American Art in the Chrysler Museum," Chrysler Museum at Norfolk, Va., March 1 - July 4, 1976. Published ReferencesDennis R. Anderson, _Three Hundred Years of American Art in the Chrysler Museum_, exh. cat., Norfolk, Va., 1975, 217. Dennis R. Anderson, "American Collection Expands," Chrysler Museum _Bulletin_ 4 (April 1975): not paged.
