Pictograph

1946/1947

Adolph Gottlieb

Associated Names
Adolph Gottlieb

Artist, American, 1903 - 1974

The image depicts geometric shapes and lines against a dark background. The composition includes vertical sections with various arrangements of shapes resembling an eye, tear droplets, and masks. The segments showcase circles, triangles, and ovals forming patterns resembling totemic symbols or mechanical parts. Bold brushstrokes and earthy tones enhance the mystique of the artwork, connecting the abstract forms with motifs like masks or tribal emblems.
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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    watercolor with scraping on wove paper

  • Credit Line

    Gift of Ruth Cole Kainen

  • Dimensions

    sheet: 46.2 × 61.12 cm (18 3/16 × 24 1/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    2006.57.9

More About this Artwork

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Learn about some of the artists the modern painter was in dialogue with throughout his career.

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

(Betty Parsons Gallery, New York); Gene Baro, New York and Washington, D.C.; Ruth Kainen, Washington, D.C.; gift to NGA, 2006.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

2008

  • Medieval to Modern: Recent Acquisitions of Drawings, Prints, and Illustrated Books, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 2008, no. 181.

2014

  • Modern American Prints and Drawings from the Kainen Collection, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, 2014-2015

Bibliography

2006

  • Brodie, Judith. "Adolph Gottlieb, Pictograph." Bulletin / National Gallery of Art, no. 35 (Fall 2006): 25, repro.

Inscriptions

lower center in graphite: Adolph Gottlieb; lower right verso in graphite: D Grey (circled)

Wikidata ID

Q64533348

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