Untitled [seated female nude holding her elbow]
1955-1967
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
crayon on wove paper
Dimensions
overall: 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
2000.141.1091
Art Historical Context
Richard Diebenkorn's *Untitled [seated female holding her elbow]* (5–1967) captures the artist's shift from Abstract Expressionism to the Bay Area Figurative during the mid-20th century. Created in California, where Diebenkorn settled after World War II, this intimate drawing reflects his renewed focus on the human form amid the post-war emphasis on personal expression. The seated female figure, poised thoughtfully with one hand cradling her elbow, evokes introspection, a hallmark of Diebenkorn's figurative works that blend emotional depth with spatial abstraction. Executed in crayon on smoot...
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...