Untitled (Comet)

1988

Vija Celmins

Associated Names
Vija Celmins

Painter, American, born Latvia, 1938

The artwork depicts a vast, star-filled night sky with a prominent comet traveling through the center. The comet is a bright spot with a faint, elongated tail trailing behind it. The background is deep black, speckled with numerous small white dots representing stars. The color palette is primarily black and white. The overall composition is simple.
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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    oil on canvas

  • Credit Line

    Gift of Edward R. Broida

  • Dimensions

    overall: 40.3 x 47 cm (15 7/8 x 18 1/2 in.)

  • Accession Number

    2005.142.13

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

(David McKee Gallery, New York); purchased November 1988 by Edward R. Broida [1933-2006], Los Angeles; gift (partial and promised) 2005 to NGA; gift completed 2006.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1988

  • Vija Celmins: New Paintings, David McKee Gallery, New York, 1988.

1992

  • Selections from the Broida Collection, Palm Beach Community College Museum of Art, Lake Worth, Florida, 1992, unnumbered brochure.

  • Vija Celmins, Inst. of Cont. Art, Univ. of Penn., Philadelphia; Henry Art Gal., Univ. of Washington, Seattle; Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; Whitney Mus. of Am. Art, New York; Mus. of Cont. Art, Los Angeles, 1992-1994, unnumbered catalogue, repro.

1996

  • Vija Celmins Works 1964-96, Institute of Contemporary Arts, London; Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid; Kunstmuseum, Wintherthur, Switzerland; Museum für Moderne Kunst, Frankfurt, 1996-1997, unnumbered catalogue, repro.

2006

  • Selections from the Collection of Edward R. Broida, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 2006, unnumbered brochure, fig. 11.

2008

  • Life on Mars: 55th Carnegie International, Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, 2008-2009, unnumbered catalogue.

2017

  • The American Dream: Amerikanischer Realismus 1945-2017, Drents Museum, Assen. Kunsthalle Emden, 2017-2018, unnumbered catalogue (shown only in Emden).

Wikidata ID

Q20197969

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