#13 — 1973

John McLaughlin, #13 - 1973, 1973, oil and acrylic on canvas, 60 x 48 x 1 ¹⁄₈ in. (152.3 x 121.9 x 2.9 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Edith S. and Arthur J. Levin, 2005.5.47

Artwork Details

Title: #13 — 1973
Artist: John McLaughlin
Date: 1973
Location: Not on view
Dimensions: 60 x 48 x 1 ¹⁄₈ in. (152.3 x 121.9 x 2.9 cm)
Credit Line: Bequest of Edith S. and Arthur J. Levin
Mediums: oil
acrylic
Mediums Description: oil and acrylic on canvas
Classifications: Painting
Subjects: Abstract — geometric
Object Number: 2005.5.47
Linked Open Data: https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/2005.5.47

Artwork Description

John McLaughlin worked as a sailor and military intelligence officer and was a student of Japanese and Chinese art before he began painting at age forty-eight. Working in his garage in Dana Point, California, he explored the possibilities for meditation he associated with Japanese art. The precise alignment, strict symmetry, and carefully adjusted colors in #13 Untitled prompt thoughts of weight, balance, and stability. The surface is intentionally smooth. “I have gone to considerable pains to eliminate from my work any trace of my own identity with the view to making the viewer the subject matter [of the painting],” he said.

Modern Masters: Midcentury Abstraction from the Smithsonian American Art Museum, 2008