Untitled [female nude with hand in lap and raised left arm]
1955-1967
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
brush and wash and lithographic crayon on calendered paper
Dimensions
sheet: 40.6 x 27.9 cm (16 x 11 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Phyllis Diebenkorn
Accession Number
2000.141.757
Art Historical Context
Richard Diebenkorn's *Untitled [female nude with in lap and raised left]* (1955–1967) captures an intimate moment of the female form in a compact drawing on calendered paper, measuring just 16 x 11 inches. Created during the artist's pivotal Bay Area Figurative period, this work reflects Diebenkorn's shift abstract expressionism to more direct representations of the human body, influenced by his time in Berkeley, California. The nude's contemplative pose—hand resting in lap, left arm raised—evokes a sense of quiet vulnerability and graceful tension, hallmarks of his mature figurative style. D...
About the Artist
Richard Diebenkorn
Richard Clifford Diebenkorn Jr. (1922-1993) was one of the premier American painters of the postwar era, whose deeply lyrical abstractions and figurative works evoked the shimmering light and wide-open spaces of California. Born in Portland, Oregon, and raised in San Francisco, Diebenkorn became a pivotal figure in elevating the status of California art on the international stage. His career encom...