Oil on masonite board, 1947-48. 356x457 mm; 14x18 inches. Signed and dated "47" in oil, lower right. Dedicated "To Florence A Merry Xmas '48" in oil, lower right
Provenance: acquired directly from the artist, private collection, New York; private collection, New York.
This modernist oil painting demonstrates Norman Lewis's exploration of both abstract form and technique in the late 1940s. Norman Lewis made a small series of these small abstract paintings on board - each have a central abstract composition with a rich variety of surfaces, including graffito and scrapings, surrounded by a halo of monochromatic color. Two other paintings from this series with a black border, Florence and Shapes, were included in the exhibition From the Margins: Lee Krasner / Norman Lewis, 1945 - 1952 at the Jewish Museum. Another 1947 untitled painting with a silverish grey background, was sold at Swann Galleries April 7, 2016. In addition to its rose and red background, this painting is distinguished by a loosely brushed grid around the composition. Kleeblatt/Brown pp. 42-43.
