Early Abstract and Modernist Painting

Peinture, 1917–18
Object-Patrick Henry Bruce, Peinture
The American expatriate Patrick Henry Bruce was a forerunner of abstract painting in the early twentieth century. Known for his streamlined still lifes, he explored the boundary between representation and abstraction. Peinture is considered one of the earliest in a series of tabletop arrangements of everyday items reduced to their most elemental forms. Geometric, sharply delineated shapes are set against four horizontal bands of black, turquoise, and lavender. While a straw and glass can be tentatively identified, other forms are mere fragments or generic volumes defined by colored shapes that appear to be simultaneously on top of the surface and to recede into the background. Peinture reflects the influence of Paul Cézanne (1839–1906) and Henri Matisse (1869–1954), yet is unlike either artist’s work at that time. While hinting at Bruce’s longstanding attraction to still-life painting, this precisely geometric work also reflects his journey toward pure abstraction.
Learn more about this painting on the Terra Foundation website.
Peinture, 1917–18
Early Abstract and Modernist Painting

Telegraph Poles with Buildings, 1917

Construction, 1915

Peinture, 1917–18

Painting No. 50, 1914–15

Nature Symbolized #3: Steeple and Trees, 1911–12

Sails, 1911–12

Welcome to Our City, 1921

Boy with Cow, 1921

Super Table, 1925

Purple and Green Leaves, 1927

Boat Going through Inlet, c. 1929

The Green Chair, 1928

Politics, 1931

Brooklyn Bridge, on the Bridge, 1930

Sailboat, Brooklyn Bridge, New York Skyline, 1934

Red Amaryllis, 1937

Room Space, 1937–38

Adolescence, 1947

Highway, 1953

Topcat Boy, 1970

Untitled (Village Street Scene), 1948

Passing Show, 1951

Kalounna in Frogtown, 1986