1946‑H (Indian Red and Black)

Media - 1980.5.10 - SAAM-1980.5.10_2 - 128192
Copied Clyfford Still, 1946-H (Indian Red and Black), 1946, oil on canvas, 78 1⁄4 x 68 3⁄8 in. (198.8 x 173.7 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase from the Vincent Melzac Collection through the Smithsonian Institution Collections Acquisition Program, 1980.5.10

Artwork Details

Title
1946‑H (Indian Red and Black)
Artist
Date
1946
Location
Dimensions
78 1⁄4 x 68 3⁄8 in. (198.8 x 173.7 cm.)
Markings
back upper right in blue ink: 1946 (underlined) - H/Clyff-d (written upside down) back lower left in blue ink: Clyffd/1946-H lower right in oil: '46 back lower left in red ink: 68 x 78 lower right in oil: '46 back upper center right in blue ink: (arrow) TOP (underlined)
Credit Line
Museum purchase from the Vincent Melzac Collection through the Smithsonian Institution Collections Acquisition Program
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Keywords
  • Nonrepresentational
  • Abstract
Object Number
1980.5.10
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1980.5.10

Artwork Description

Clyfford Still often worked using a painter's knife, creating surfaces that are thickly slathered and carved rather than brushed. He was one of the first artists in the United States to discard descriptive titles, using a combination of dates and letters to identify his works instead. He wanted viewers to approach his paintings without preconceptions. "I want no allusions to interfere with or assist the spectator," he stated. "I want [the viewer] to be on [their] own."

What do you see in the jagged shapes and rich color of 1946-H?