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Italian Drawings from the Armand Hammer Collection
Closed May 5, 1996
Drawn with brown ink and shaded with tan washes on cream-white paper, two bearded men wearing robes, with a smaller, nude, winged boy between them, fill this vertical drawing. At the center top of the paper, the angel faces us, gazing down to our left with open mouth and eyebrows drawn together. He has curly hair and lifts his muscular right arm, on our left, with his index finger pointed upward. Crosshatched lines define his body, and quick, curved lines shade his outstretched wings. To our right, one man stands with his body facing the center of the sheet but he turns his head to look up off the top right corner. He has curling hair, a wide mustache, and perhaps a goatee, though his chin is partially hidden by a dark spot on the paper. He has broad shoulders, a thick neck, large hands, and a hint of a muscular leg under his flowing, voluminous robes. He holds a flat, oblong object, possibly a stone tablet, perched on his slightly bent left knee. Seated to our left, the other man faces and looks at us. He also grasps a flat, tablet-like object but holds it up, braced on his right thigh, to our left, and points to it with his other hand. This man also is solidly built and swathed in robes, with a hood over his curly hair. He leans forward, knees apart, and stares out with his brows deeply furrowed. His downturned mouth is set in a bushy, curly beard. Near the bottom of the picture, the bare feet of the two men emerge from the folds of their robes. Touches of white washes on the folds of the robes create a sense of light coming from above and to our right, and charcoal lines reinforce the shadows. A grid is lightly drawn in red chalk lines over the composition. A black stamp in the lower left has the letters “E.C” and another at the center reads, “H de T. STAT.”
Arshile Gorky
Closed September 17, 1995
Abstracted forms are painted in grass green, black, pepper red, butter yellow, tawny beige, rose pink, and a few touches of ocean blue in this horizontal composition. The paint is applied thinly, almost like watercolor wash. Translucent layers of paint drip down the canvas and knit the colors and shapes together. Most of the forms create a roughly pyramidal shape at the center. Some are vaguely square-shaped while others are oval, circular, or triangular. Many of the forms are outlined in black, and some have spots of color at their centers. For instance, a cluster of shapes near the lower right includes two canted parallelograms outlined with black. One has an emerald-green oval at its center and the other a black oval. Other shapes in that area include a rust-red triangle, a solid black anvil-shaped form, and a butternut-orange circle surrounded by vibrant yellow. A caramel-brown area spans the bottom edge of the canvas. The artist signed and dated the lower left corner, “A. Gorky 44.”
French Drawings from the Armand Hammer Collection
Closed November 13, 1995
The image shows a group of figures engaged in a scene. Two women are seated on the floor in the foreground, one reaching out with her hand, while a child or baby lies in front of them. The faces of the individuals are illuminated, showcasing delicate facial features and soft expressions. The women have loosely styled hair and wear draped garments. Another figure, a small child, stands with arms outstretched on a surface, while one of the women nearby leans on the surface and gazes upward. The background is nondescript, emphasizing the interaction among the characters in the foreground. Loose objects such as a plate are scattered on the floor, adding to the lively nature of the composition.
John Singleton Copley in England
Closed January 7, 1996
A knight in armor strides toward two women wearing long gowns in a balustraded terrace in this horizontal painting. The three people all have smooth, pale skin with flushed cheeks. To our left, the man’s entire body is covered in armor except for his face under a raised visor. He has blue eyes, and his rose-red lips are slightly parted. His helmet is topped with a plume of white feathers. There is a red cross on his chest and red fabric wraps over his far shoulder and billows down his back to his shins. He holds a round shield edged in red up over his head with his far arm, and holds a lance down by his side with the hand closer to us. A sword hangs from his far hip, and he strides forward onto his other leg. He gazes to our right. In the right half of the composition, the two women stand facing each other. Both have long, curly gray hair, delicate noses, gray eyes under arched brows, and their coral-pink lips are parted. At the center of the painting, one woman, Fidelia, wears a long-sleeved, floor-length white gown tied at the waist with a butter-yellow sash. White cloth wraps around her head and through her hair, and it flutters behind her. She turns her head to look up and to our left, and her head is surrounded by a vibrant, yellow glow. In her right hand, closer to us, she holds up a gold chalice with a snake curling from the cup, its mouth open and tongue flicking out near her hair. She holds a brown book in her other hand, down in front of her hips. The second woman, Speranza, faces Fidelia but she looks up and to our left. Speranza’s topaz-blue, satin dress has a gauzy white collar and cuffs, and the skirt pools around her feet. A sky-blue ribbon wraps through Speranza’s hair. With her far hand, Speranza touches Fidelia’s wrist near the book. With her other hand, closer to us, Fidelia gathers her dress and braces the curving prongs of a silver anchor across that arm. The trio is framed by tall trees on the left and columns swathed with burgundy-red curtains on the right. A balustrade between the man in armor and woman in white is silhouetted against a salmon-pink sky along the horizon. A screen of white clouds float against the aquamarine-blue sky above.
Marc Chagall's Early Prints and Drawings
Closed December 31, 1995
This painting features a series of angular and curved lines that create an abstract representation of a village scene. In the left part of the painting, dark, triangular and rectangular shapes form what appear to be a collection of houses, one with a bright yellow roof, and an industrial area with chimneys in the background. The red and beige hues cover the majority of the painting with vibrant, swirling lines adding texture. Behind the buildings, a person appears to ride on horseback against a bright blue section. Closer to us are three people depicted with flat, abstract features. Near the bottom-left corner, a woman in a patterned dress with a dark headscarf appears to carry a tray or bowl. In the center, a person in pale gray clothing is walking to the left, holding an indistinct white object. Behind them, on the right, a person sits on a chair, wrapped in white clothing. Their chair appears to be held up by another person.
Egon Schiele
Closed May 8, 1994
The sculpture depicts the head of a person with distinct facial features including pronounced brows, a prominent nose, and slightly parted lips. It exhibits a textured surface that gives a rough and uneven appearance to the figure. The material of the sculpture is dark bronze, which has a metallic sheen that reflects light subtly, adding depth to the facial contours. The sculpture is roughly life-sized, comparable to the proportions of an average human head, and it sits on a flat base that integrates with the neck area. The hair is stylized in a way that suggests movement, characterized by flowing, irregular forms.
Jan van Eyck's Annunciation
Closed September 5, 1994
A woman and winged angel, both with pale, peach skin, are situated in a church interior in this tall, narrow painting. To our left, the angel has long, blond, curly hair, smooth skin, and is smiling. The wings are outlined in royal blue, and they blend from blue to green to yellow to crimson. The angel holds one hand, closer to us, up at chest height with the index finger subtly pointing upward. Holding a long scepter in the other hand, the angel angles their body toward the woman to our right. The angel wears a gold jewel and pearl-encrusted crown and a jeweled long, voluminous robe in scarlet-red and shimmering gold brocade. The neck and along the opening down the front are lined with pearls and jewels. The angel looks toward the woman, who wears a royal-blue dress tied with a red belt at the high waist. Her long brown hair is tied back but one tendril falls over her left shoulder, to our right. She kneels facing us with her raised hands facing outward. Her head is tipped a bit to our left, and she looks up and into the distance to our right with lips slightly parted. She kneels behind a book lying open on a low table. A vase of white lilies and a red cushion lies on the floor in front of the table, close to us. The floor is decorated with people and scenes outlined in black and set into square panels, as if inlaid with wood. The church behind and above the people has a row of tall, narrow arches with bull’s-eye glass windows. A walkway lined with columns runs above the arches, and sunlight comes in through arched windows under the flat wood ceiling. A white dove flies toward the woman on gold lines from a window at the upper left of the painting. Latin words painted in gold capital letters are exchanged between the people. The angel says, “AVE GRA PLENA.” The letters of the woman’s response are painted upside down and backward: “ECCE ANCILLA DNI.”
Toulouse-Lautrec
Closed April 2, 1995
We look slightly down onto a stage, at a woman who dances at the center of this square painting. The pale, white skin on her face is tinged with slate-blue shadows and heightened noticeably with pink blush at the cheekbones. She wears crimson-red lipstick and her dark brown eyebrows are peaked over blue eyes. Two flaring pink flowers, each about the size of the woman’s face, are pinned in the woman’s flame-red hair. The black bodice of her dress has puffed, elbow-length sleeves and a low-cut square neckline. The lime-green skirt flares around her dancing feet to billow up and reveal layers of bubblegum pink underneath. Her body is angled to our left as she points her left, black-stockinged foot and holds her arms by her sides. Behind her, thirteen people dressed in sapphire-blue, ocean-green, and black costumes suggest a royal court, including a dark-haired man who wears a brick-red bolero style suit. He stands near the woman to our right, watching her dance.
A Discerning Eye
Closed June 12, 1994
A drawing showing a warrior facing off against a dragon. The warrior is depicted as muscular and bearded, with a dynamic posture and a billowing cloak. The dragon has detailed scales, wings, and a fierce expression. The image uses strong lines to create a dramatic scene, with a lightly suggested background of tree branches.
Milton Avery
Closed January 22, 1995
The image shows a profile view of a person's head and shoulders. The person is seated, facing right, and holding a pipe to their mouth. The profile features a long nose and thick, dark hair styled in a shiny, almost helmet-like manner. The hair is drawn with lines that convey texture and volume. The clothing is depicted with bold, straight lines implying a striped pattern, and a collar is visible, suggesting formal or casual attire. The person is not wearing any visible jewelry. The background is plain, with no additional details, highlighting the figure and the drawing's defined lines. At the bottom of the image, there is a signature and date: "Milton Avery 1936."
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