Betty Parsons
Maine 2

Maine 2

© 1957 Betty Parsons and William P. Rayner Foundation

Maine 2
Maine 2
ArtistAmerican, 1900–1982
Titles
  • Maine 2
Date1957
MediumAcrylic on linen
DimensionsCanvas: 49 3/4 × 40 in. (126.4 × 101.6 cm)
Credit LineMuseum purchase funded by contemporary@mfah 2022
Object number2022.106
Non exposé

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Object Type
DescriptionFrom 1946 to 1982, Betty Parsons was among New York’s most acclaimed art dealers. She championed many artists, including Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, Agnes Martin, and Forrest Bess. However, her first and most enduring commitment was to her own artistic practice, and her lyrical compositions have only recently gained significant recognition. Maine 2 typifies her mature style. The organic palette and staccato brushwork evoke the jagged landscape of coastal Maine, where Parsons spent many summers. “The abstract world was considered cold,” she once stated. “But it had fire, energy, nature, light, space— it concentrated on all those values.”

ProvenanceThe artist; Betty Parsons Foundation, New York; [Alexander Gray Associates, New York]; purchased by the MFAH, 2022.
Exhibition HistoryFrieze, Los Angeles: Alexander Gray Associates, February 17–20, 2022.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
Verso: Signed, titled, and dated in graphite on canvas support: MAINE #1 / 1957 / B. Parsons

Recto: Signed in green paint, lower right corner: Betty Parsons [script]
[none]
Catalogue raisonnéA catalogue raisonné is in process and Maine 2 will be included.

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

If you have questions about this work of art or the MFAH Online Collection please contact us.

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