Untitled [seated figure]
1955-1967
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
graphite on wove paper
Dimensions
overall: 27.9 x 21.7 cm (11 x 8 9/16 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Phyllis Diebenkorn
Accession Number
2000.141.100
Art Historical Context
Richard Diebenkorn's *Untitled [seated figure*, created between 1955 and1967, captures the artist's pivotal shift toward Bay Area Figurative painting. During this period, Diebenkorn moved away from his earlier Abstract Expressionist works, embracing the human form with a fresh intimacy. Executed in graphite on smooth wove paper—a medium for nuanced line work and subtle shading—this modest 11 x 8 9/16-inch drawing exemplifies his exploratory sketches, likely made in his Berkeley studio amid collaborations with peers like David Park and Elmer Bischoff. The seated figure emerges through confiden...
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...