Blueberry Eyes

Franz Kline, Blueberry Eyes, 1959-1960, oil on paperboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Woodward Foundation, 1982.57
Copied Franz Kline, Blueberry Eyes, 1959-1960, oil on paperboard, 40 1⁄8 x 29 3⁄4 in. (101.9 x 75.6 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Woodward Foundation, 1982.57

Artwork Details

Title
Blueberry Eyes
Artist
Date
1959-1960
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
40 1⁄8 x 29 3⁄4 in. (101.9 x 75.6 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of the Woodward Foundation
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on paperboard
Classifications
Subjects
  • Abstract
Object Number
1982.57

Artwork Description

The centralized green, black, and red strokes set against a blue field in Blueberry Eyes project the aspect of a figure against a background space. The energy here is electric, even joyous. In a rare acknowledgment of a specific source, Kline told the painting’s first owner that he named the composition for the color of the eye shadow worn by his companion when she returned from a trip to Paris.

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