- Gallery Text
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As a key figure of the New York school, Gottlieb vehemently defended abstraction against critics who saw the work as obscure and befuddling. His oppositional stance — and that of his peers — earned them the nickname “The Irascibles.” In Black Ground (1985.128.A), one of his Imaginary Landscape paintings, Gottlieb presents a mysterious world of symbols and colors that evoke the idea of landscape while not representing a specific place. The unfinished work on the other side (1985.128.B) dates from an earlier moment in his career. The allover pattern of symbols, organized within a grid, reflects Gottlieb’s interest in Jungian psychology, Greek mythology, and the forms of non-Western cultures. At a moment when the United States was emerging from World War II, Gottlieb proposed that the very act of painting was a heroic quest for meaning in an unstable age.
- Identification and Creation
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- Object Number
- 1985.128.B
- People
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Adolph Gottlieb, American (New York, NY 1903 - 1974 New York, NY)
- Title
- Untitled
- Other Titles
- Former Title: Pictograph (verso)
- Classification
- Paintings
- Work Type
- painting
- Date
- c. 1948-1949
- Places
- Creation Place: North America, United States
- Culture
- American
- Persistent Link
- https://hvrd.art/o/226414
- Location
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Level 1, Room 1200, Modern and Contemporary Art, Mid–century Abstraction I
View this object's location on our interactive map - Physical Descriptions
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- Medium
- Oil on canvas stretched over artist's board
- Dimensions
- 35.9 x 45.7 cm (14 1/8 x 18 in.)
framed: 38.7 x 48.9 x 3.5 cm (15 1/4 x 19 1/4 x 1 3/8 in.)
- Provenance
- Adolph Gottlieb; to [André Emmerich Gallery, New York, New York], sold; to Mr. and Mrs. Harold Gershinowitz, New York, New York, gift; to Harvard University Art Museums, 1985.
- Acquisition and Rights
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- Credit Line
- Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Harold Gershinowitz
- Copyright
- © Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
- Accession Year
- 1985
- Object Number
- 1985.128.B
- Division
- Modern and Contemporary Art
- Contact
- am_moderncontemporary@harvard.edu
- The Harvard Art Museums encourage the use of images found on this website for personal, noncommercial use, including educational and scholarly purposes. To request a higher resolution file of this image, please submit an online request.
- Exhibition History
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32Q: 1200 Mid-Century Abstraction I (Painterly Abstraction), Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 11/16/2014 - 01/01/2050
- Related Works
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This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Modern and Contemporary Art at am_moderncontemporary@harvard.edu