Provenance

Ben Wolf

Benjamin Wolf

American, 1914 - 1996

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This painting is a composition of geometric shapes and strong black lines forming an interconnected, abstract design. It features a central figure with a triangular head and elongated arms appearing to reach down towards a small child. The child and the adult figure both have pale yellow faces, although the adult's face is also painted with areas of dark blue and red. Their bodies are painted in sections of red and blue. On the right, green and dark red shapes are reminiscent of a creature with a snout and horns, like an ox. The people and the animal are all created with flat planes in different colors pieced together. They are set against a green and blue background with red blocks suggesting a pathway or wall. There are swirling black and white lines in some of the sections of paint, and some faint splatters of blue paint.
Romare Bearden, The Manger, 1945, oil on gessoed board, Gift of Funds from Agnes Gund and Gift of P. Bruce Marine and Donald Hardy Collection, 2022.128.1

The Manger

Romare Bearden · 1945 · oil on gessoed board ·  Accession ID  2022.128.1