Positano

Will Barnet, Positano, 1960, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc., 1969.47.4
Will Barnet, Positano, 1960, oil on canvas, 57 x 42 1⁄4 in. (144.8 x 107.3 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc., 1969.47.4

Artwork Details

Title
Positano
Artist
Date
1960
Location
Dimensions
57 x 42 1⁄4 in. (144.8 x 107.3 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc.
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Subjects
  • Abstract — geometric
Object Number
1969.47.4
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1969.47.4

Artwork Description

Will Barnet painted Positano in New York based on his memory of a moonlit night along Italy's southern coast. He had created monumental abstract canvases for several years and was about to return to painting human figures. This work hints at the shapes of heads and arms silhouetted against a luminous sky, but the darker forms themselves also suggest the vastness of a pitch-black night. In this way, the two principal areas of color shift back and forth from solid forms to empty spaces.

Works by this artist (4 items)

Martín Ramírez, Soldado with American Flag, ca. 1950-1953, crayon, watercolor, pencil on various papers, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson, 1986.65.194
Soldado with American Flag
Artist
Dateca. 1950-1953
crayon, watercolor, pencil on various papers
Not on view
Martín Ramírez, Untitled (Chorus Line), ca. 1950, watercolor, crayon and pencil on joined papers, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr., 1991.96.4R
Untitled (Chorus Line)
Artist
Dateca. 1950
watercolor, crayon and pencil on joined papers
Not on view
Martín Ramírez, Untitled (Church), ca. 1950, crayon, pencil, and watercolor on various joined papers, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson, 1986.65.192
Untitled (Church)
Artist
Dateca. 1950
crayon, pencil, and watercolor on various joined papers
Not on view
Martín Ramírez, Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, ca. 1953, crayon, pencil, and colored pencil on joined papers, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson, 1986.65.193
Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception
Artist
Dateca. 1953
crayon, pencil, and colored pencil on joined papers
Not on view

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      An interview with the artist Will Barnet. Will Barnet studied at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, then moved to New York in 1930 to attend the Art Students League. After his first son was born, Barnet began a series of paintings that show scenes of family life. He experimented with abstraction for several years, aiming to "eliminate realistic space" in favor of simple geometric forms. His later work is more representational and focuses almost entirely on the female form. ("Will Barnet, Works of Six Decades," American Art Review, June-July 1994)

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      Inez Nathaniel-Walker, Woman with Bowl of Flowers, 1974, felt-tipped pen and ink, ballpoint pen and ink, crayon, and pencil on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson, 1986.65.190
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      felt-tipped pen and ink, ballpoint pen and ink, crayon, and pencil on paper mounted on brown paperboard
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      Inez Nathaniel-Walker, Double Portrait, 1977, felt-tipped pen and ink, crayon, and pencil on paperboard mounted to paperboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson, 1986.65.188
      Double Portrait
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      felt-tipped pen and ink, crayon, and pencil on paperboard mounted to paperboard
      Not on view
      Gene Davis, Untitled, 1976, pencil, colored pencil, and crayon on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Florence Coulson Davis, 2000.43.12
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      Not on view