Early Abstract and Modernist Painting
John Graham (1881–1961)
The Green Chair, 1928
Born Ivan Dombrowski in Kiev, Russia, the artist and intellectual John Graham espoused the expression of art through pure form. Admired for his wide range of interests—from theosophy to religion and mathematics—and for his remarkable knowledge of art theory, he became influential in the development of post–World War II abstract expressionism. Painted and exhibited for the first time in Paris in 1928 at the Zborowski Gallery, The Green Chair is part of a series of Graham’s monumental nudes of the 1920s. Here, a stylized female figure, seated on a chair, is seen in classic profile; the viewer is prompted to interpret the painting formally. The woman’s masklike face recalls African sculpture, which enjoyed wide appeal at that time. Graham abstracted and compressed the human figure to encourage archetypal associations that tie together artistic traditions from the past with forward-looking modernist trends.
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