Object Details
Artist
Ad Reinhardt, born Buffalo, NY 1913-died New York City 1967
Exhibition Label
Ad Reinhardt’s comments about art are markers of an aesthetic and intellectual journey from early cubist-inspired compositions to the black rectangles he made for the last seven years of his life. He came to believe that painting is a nonnarrative medium and over the course of two decades purged imagery and even traces of his own hand from his work. The matte black surface of Abstract Painting no. 4 is not read quickly, but close examination reveals subtle blue and plum squares arranged in a cruciform shape. Asked to explain his use of black, Reinhardt replied, “It’s because of its non-color. . . . Color has to do with life.”
Modern Masters: Midcentury Abstraction from the Smithsonian American Art Museum, 2008
Credit Line
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc.
Date
1961
Object number
1969.47.71
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Type
Painting
Medium
oil on linen
Dimensions
60 1/8 x 60 1/4 in. (152.6 x 152.9 cm.)
See more items in
Smithsonian American Art Museum Collection
Department
Painting and Sculpture
Data Source
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Topic
Abstract
Link to Original Record
Record ID
saam_1969.47.71