Untitled [seated model gripping her wrist with her left hand]
1955-1967
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
conté crayon on calendered 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
2000.141.637
Art Historical Context
Richard Diebenkorn's *Untitled [seated model her wrist with her left hand]* (1955–1967) is a compelling drawing from the artist's pivotal figurative period. Created with conté crayon on smooth calendered paper—a prized for its rich tonal range and precise lines—this intimate 16 x 11-inch work captures a seated female model in a moment of quiet tension, her left hand gripping her wrist in a gesture that evokes introspection or restraint. Diebenkorn, a leading figure in Bay Area Figurative Painting, had shifted from Abstract Expressionism in the early 1950s to more direct representations of the...
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...