Chyrow
1973
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
collage of colored fabrics, paperboard and oil paint on paperboard
Dimensions
overall: 82.9 x 75.8 cm (32 5/8 x 29 13/16 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Andrew W. Mellon Fund
Accession Number
1977.19.1
Art Historical Context
Frank Stella's *Chyrow* (1973) is a striking collage from his acclaimed Polish Village series, crafted from colored fabrics, paperboard, oil paint on paperboard. Measuring 82.9 x 75.8 cm, this work exemplifies Stella's shift in the early 1970s from his earlier minimalist paintings—famous for their bold, "shaped canvas" innovations—to more tactile, three-dimensional explorations. Classified as a drawing yet pushing boundaries with its relief-like construction, it invites viewers to appreciate the physicality of layered materials, creating depth and texture that play with light and shadow. Part...
About the Artist
Frank Stella
Frank Stella, born on May 12, 1936, in Malden, Massachusetts, to first-generation Italian-American parents, grew up immersed in art from an early age. His father, a gynecologist who painted houses to fund medical school, enlisted young Stella in sanding and scraping tasks as an informal apprenticeship, while his mother, an artist who painted landscapes, further nurtured his creative inclinations. ...