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.