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Open 10:00–5:00

Visit
Open today 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Admission is always free

6th and Constitution Ave NW
Washington, DC 20565

Sculpture Garden Extended Hours

Open late until 8:00 p.m. on select nights
Through September 5
Exhibitions & Events
America’s 250th

Celebrating American art and artists
Art & Artists
Open Call

Artists Reimagining the Collection
Meet the 50 makers selected from more than 1,600 submissions

Vigilantes

1934

Will Barnet

Associated Names

Will Barnet

Artist, American, 1911 - 2012

This is a drawing depicting chaotic and dynamic figures and abstract shapes. The composition shows contorted forms and interlocking figures engaged in dramatic poses, possibly in a moment of conflict or action. The use of strong contrasts between light and dark enhances the tension in the scene. The background features minimalistic architectural elements hinting at an urban setting. Bold lines and shading add to the intensity of the drawing.

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Artwork overview

Medium

lithograph in black on wove paper
Credit Line

Reba and Dave Williams Collection, Gift of Reba and Dave Williams
Dimensions

image: 41.59 × 48.58 cm (16 3/8 × 19 1/8 in.)
sheet (irregular): 45.4 × 57.47 cm (17 7/8 × 22 5/8 in.)
Accession Number

2008.115.760
Catalogue Raisonné

Cole 1972, no. 3

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Reba and Dave Williams, Greenwich, CT; gift to NGA, 2008

Associated Names

Dave H. and Reba W. Williams

Exhibition History

2020

Vida Americana: Mexican Muralists Remake American Art, 1925-1945, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; McNay Art Museum, San Antonio, TX, 2020-2021 (shown only in New York), no. 69, repro.
Vida Americana: Mexican Muralists Remake American Art, 1925-1945, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, 2020 - 2021, unnumbered catalogue.

Bibliography

1972

Cole, Sylvan. Will Barnet: Etchings, Lithographs, Woodcuts, Serigraphs, 1932-1972, Catalogue Raisonné. New York: Associated American Artists, 1972, no. 3.

2020

Haskell, Barbara, editor. Vida Americana: Mexican Muralists Remake American Art, 1925-1945. Exh. cat. Whitney Museum of Art, New York; McNay Art Museum, San Antonio, 2020: 117, no. 69.

Inscriptions

lower left in graphite: Vigilantes; lower right in graphite: Will Barnet

Wikidata ID

Q76549938

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