Untitled (Red and Gray)

1950

Ad Reinhardt

Artist, American, 1913 - 1967

Orange-red and battleship-gray geometric forms are arranged in a loose grid in this vertical, abstract painting. Made entirely of vertical and horizontal lines, the forms are reminiscent of letters or hieroglyphs. Sometimes the red forms seem to float in front of a gray background, but then the contrast will flip so the gray comes forward, creating a subtle optical illusion.
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On View

East Building Upper Level, Gallery 403

Artwork overview

  • Medium

    oil on canvas

  • Credit Line

    Robert and Jane Meyerhoff Collection

  • Dimensions

    overall: 203.2 x 152.4 cm (80 x 60 in.)
    framed: 204.9 x 153.5 x 4.8 cm (80 11/16 x 60 7/16 x 1 7/8 in.)

  • Accession

    1992.28.3

  • Copyright

    © Estate of Ad Reinhardt

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Estate of the artist; purchased May 1982 through (Marlborough Gallery, Inc., New York) by Robert and Jane Meyerhoff, Phoenix, Maryland;[1] gift 1992 to NGA.
[1] Provenance from The Robert and Jane Meyerhoff Collection: 1945 to 1995, Exh. cat., National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1996: 256.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1982

  • [group show], Marlborough Gallery, New York, 1982.

1991

  • Ad Reinhardt, Museum of Modern Art, New York; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, 1991-1992, 21, 26, 52, color repro.

1996

  • The Robert and Jane Meyerhoff Collection: 1945 to 1995, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1996, no. 150, color repro.

2009

  • The Robert and Jane Meyerhoff Collection: Selected Works, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 2009-2010, pl. 100.

2011

  • Extended loan for use by President Barack Obama, The White House, Washington, D.C., 2011-2014.

2014

  • Modernism from the National Gallery of Art: The Robert and Jane Meyerhoff Collection, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, de Young Museum, 2014, pl. 36.

Bibliography

1996

  • The Robert and Jane Meyerhoff Collection: 1945 to 1995. Exh. cat. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1996: no. 150.

Wikidata ID

Q20194407

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