Ocean Park, No. 6

Richard Diebenkorn, Ocean Park, No. 6, 1968, oil on canvas, 91 ³⁄₄ x 71 ³⁄₄ in. (233.2 x 182.3 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Arthur J. Levin in memory of his beloved wife Edith, 1999.17, © 1968, Richard Diebenkorn

Artwork Details

Title: Ocean Park, No. 6
Artist: Richard Diebenkorn
Date: 1968
Location: Not on view
Dimensions: 91 ³⁄₄ x 71 ³⁄₄ in. (233.2 x 182.3 cm)
Copyright: © 1968, Richard Diebenkorn
Credit Line: Gift of Arthur J. Levin in memory of his beloved wife Edith
Mediums: oil
Mediums Description: oil on canvas
Classifications: Painting
Subjects: Abstract
Object Number: 1999.17
Linked Open Data: https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1999.17

Artwork Description

In Ocean Park, No. 6, overlapping planes of color suggest Richard Diebenkorn's view from above as he flew over Southern California, noting the "ghosts of former tilled fields [and] patches of land being eroded." The progression evokes a flattened topographical image of dry hills descending to roads, sand, and water. With this monumental painting, which measures nearly eight feet high, Diebenkorn upends the traditional landscape format from a long horizontal to a vertical. Ocean Park, No. 6 is an early painting in a series Diebenkorn went on to pursue in more than one hundred artworks.