Blues

Adolph Gottlieb, Blues, 1962, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Woodward Foundation, 1977.128
Copied Adolph Gottlieb, Blues, 1962, oil on canvas, 48 1836 in. (122.391.4 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Woodward Foundation, 1977.128

Artwork Details

Title
Blues
Date
1962
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
48 1836 in. (122.391.4 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of the Woodward Foundation
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Subjects
  • Abstract
Object Number
1977.128

Artwork Description

In the late 1950s, Adolph Gottlieb started his "burst" paintings, a series of works that showed smooth, round areas of color above vigorous brushstrokes and splatters. This method brought together the two main currents of abstract expressionism: the soft tones of color field painting and the dramatic gestures of action painting. The black shape at the bottom of this image reflects the artist's movement as he applied paint in one wide, twisting brushstroke. In contrast, the shades of blue above blend softly from light to dark, as if he used slower, more careful brushstrokes. Gottlieb played with opposites, painting pairs of shapes that evoke dualities such as night and day, sun and earth, and male and female (Alloway and MacNaughton, Adolph Gottlieb: A Retrospective, 1981).