Gridiron

Carl Holty, Gridiron, 1943-1944, oil on fiberboard, 48 x 36 in. (122.0 x 91.5 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Patricia and Phillip Frost, 1986.92.59

Artwork Details

Title: Gridiron
Artist: Carl Holty
Date: 1943-1944
Location: Not on view
Dimensions: 48 x 36 in. (122.0 x 91.5 cm.)
Credit Line: Gift of Patricia and Phillip Frost
Mediums: oil
Mediums Description: oil on fiberboard
Classifications: Painting
Subjects: Abstract
Object Number: 1986.92.59
Linked Open Data: https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1986.92.59

Artwork Description

Holty believed that abstract forms could express human experiences of space, time, and movement, but only if the artist started with the things he saw around him. In Gridiron he abstracted the kneeling form of a football player, "exploding" the figure into a network of lines and shapes that capture the physical energy of the game. Not long after Holty made this work, a younger generation of abstract expressionists took the country by storm, unleashing their subconscious desires and impulses in paint. But Holty remained suspicious of abstract art that only meant something to the artist, saying "I would like to paint about the world, not myself."

Exhibition Label, Smithsonian American Art Museum, 2006