Early Abstract and Modernist Painting
John Storrs (1885–1956)
Politics, 1931
A member of the first generation of American modernists, John Storrs developed a style of sculpture characterized by abstraction and geometric simplicity. During the 1930s, Storrs turned to painting, a medium in which he explored nonrepresentational forms based on controlled lines and pure shapes. _Politics _is one such work. Flat, slab-like objects with complex irregular edges are set against a pristine white background. The composition hovers between representation and abstraction, between architectural lines and biomorphic shapes; the profile of a dark gray head on the left imbues the painting with a sense of anxiety. Politics is among the earliest of a group of mostly non-objective paintings Storrs began in 1931. It may comprise his most pointed comment on contemporary affairs, with the shadowy head perhaps representing the profile of populist politicians spewing their hateful rhetoric.
Learn more about this painting on the Terra Foundation website.
Early Abstract and Modernist Painting
Joseph Stella (1877–1946)
Telegraph Poles with Buildings, 1917
Max Weber (1881–1961)
Construction, 1915
Patrick Henry Bruce (1881–1936)
Peinture, 1917–18
Marsden Hartley (1877–1943)
Painting No. 50, 1914–15
Arthur Dove (1880–1946)
Nature Symbolized #3: Steeple and Trees, 1911–12
Arthur Dove (1880–1946)
Sails, 1911–12
Charles Demuth (1883–1935)
Welcome to Our City, 1921
Yasuo Kuniyoshi (1880–1953)
Boy with Cow, 1921
Stuart Davis (1892–1964)
Super Table, 1925
Helen Torr (1886–1967)
Purple and Green Leaves, 1927
Arthur Dove (1880–1946)
Boat Going through Inlet, c. 1929
John Graham (1881–1961)
The Green Chair, 1928
John Storrs (1885–1956)
Politics, 1931
Ernest Lawson (1873–1939)
Brooklyn Bridge, 1917–20
John Marin (1870–1953)
Sailboat, Brooklyn Bridge, New York Skyline, 1934
Georgia O'Keeffe (1887–1986)
Red Amaryllis, 1937
Albert Eugene Gallatin (1881–1952)
Room Space, 1937–38
Milton Avery (1885–1965)
Adolescence, 1947
George Tooker (1920–2011)
Highway, 1953
Ed Paschke (1939–2004)
Topcat Boy, 1970
Beauford Delaney (1901–1979)
Untitled (Village Street Scene), 1948
Philip Evergood (1901–1973)
Passing Show, 1951
Jamie Wyeth (b. 1946)
Kalounna in Frogtown, 1986