Untitled

Kenneth Noland, Untitled, 1958, acrylic on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Chiyo Thomas Telford in loving memory of her father, Elbert D. Thomas, 1992.88

This untitled piece is a “proto-circle,” one of Kenneth Noland’s first circle paintings in which a bold black ring focuses our eyes on the colors and textures within. Noland felt that the “touch and application” of color was just as important as its hue, and he applied the paint in heavy brushstrokes to emphasize the different stages of his working process. Stripes and dashes of green, orange, and yellow show partially through the white paint, as if waiting to burst through and fill the circle with color.

“I do open paintings. I like lightness, airiness, and the way color pulsates. The presence of the painting is all that’s important.” The artist, quoted in “Peacock Duo,” Time, January 1965

Title

Untitled

Artist

Kenneth Noland

Date

1958

Location

Dimensions