1964.65
Untitled
Artist
Franz Kline
(Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, 1910 - 1962, New York City, New York)
Title
Untitled
Creation Date
1955
Century
20th century
Dimensions
19 7/8 in. x 14 7/8 in. (50.48 cm x 37.78 cm)
Object Type
drawing
Creation Place
North America, United States
Medium and Support
brush and black ink on off-white wove paper
Credit Line
Gift of Walter K. Gutman, Class of 1924
Copyright
This artwork may be under copyright. For further information, please consult the Museum’s
Copyright Terms and Conditions.
Accession Number
1964.65
Franz Kline belonged to the core of the New York School and helped to make Abstract Expressionism an internationally celebrated phenomenon. This bold, gestural drawing closely relates to Kline’s large-scale paintings that similarly reduce the palette to a stark contrast of black on white. Among his peers, Kline even became known as the “black and white artist.” While his paintings seem spontaneous, they were in fact meticulously composed, often over periods of several months. While painting, Kline looked to his drawings and copied details onto his canvases. This process of deliberation distinguished him among the members of the New York School, “action painters” who suggested to the viewers of their work that artistic production was an outpouring of raw energy.