Wavy Brushstrokes
1996
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
transparent and opaque watercolor on wove paper
Dimensions
sheet: 153.67 × 294.64 cm (60 1/2 × 116 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Dorothy and Herbert Vogel Collection
Accession Number
1999.118.1
Art Historical Context
Sol LeWitt's *Wavy Brushstrokes (1996) is a captivating large-scale drawing that exemplifies the artist's late-career exploration of organic form and color. Measuring an impressive 60½ × 116 inches, this work on wove paper employs both transparent and opaque watercolors to create undulating, rhythmic lines that dance across the vast surface. LeWitt, a pioneer of Conceptual and Minimalist art in the 1960s, shifted in the 1990s toward vibrant, hand-executed brushstroke series—contrasting his earlier geometric wall drawings defined by precise instructions. The use of watercolor here is particula...
About the Artist
Sol LeWitt
Solomon "Sol" LeWitt (1928–2007) was born in Hartford, Connecticut, to Russian Jewish immigrant parents; his father, a doctor and inventor, died when Sol was six, after which he lived with his mother, a nurse, and an aunt in New Britain. His mother enrolled him in art classes at the Wadsworth Atheneum, fostering his early interest in drawing. LeWitt earned a BFA from Syracuse University in 1949, w...