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Catalog Data

Artist:
Will Barnet, born Beverly, MA 1911-died New York City 2012  Search this
Medium:
oil on canvas
Dimensions:
57 x 42 1/4 in. (144.8 x 107.3 cm)
Type:
Painting
Date:
1960
Luce Center Label:
Will Barnet painted Positano in New York based on his memory of a moonlit night along Italy's southern coast. He had created monumental abstract canvases for several years and was about to return to painting human figures. This work hints at the shapes of heads and arms silhouetted against a luminous sky, but the darker forms themselves also suggest the vastness of a pitch-black night. In this way, the two principal areas of color shift back and forth from solid forms to empty spaces.
Luce Object Quote:
". . . I'm a great believer in limitations. The better you understand limitations, the greater an artist you can become." Barnet, interview with Jordana Pomeroy, 1990
Topic:
Abstract\geometric  Search this
Credit Line:
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc.
Object number:
1969.47.4
Restrictions & Rights:
Usage conditions apply
See more items in:
Smithsonian American Art Museum Collection
Department:
Painting and Sculpture
On View:
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Luce Foundation Center, 4th Floor, 42A
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Luce Foundation Center
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Luce Foundation Center, 4th Floor
Data Source:
Smithsonian American Art Museum
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/vk7b897ffaf-085a-4cbe-8ddb-4f7942fc2e09
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:saam_1969.47.4