Lee Krasner
Blue and Black

Blue and Black

© The Pollock-Krasner Foundation/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Blue and Black
Blue and Black
ArtistAmerican, 1908–1984
CultureAmerican
Titles
  • Blue and Black
Date1951–1953
PlaceNew York, United States
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions57 3/4 × 82 1/2 in. (146.7 × 209.6 cm)

Credit LineMuseum purchase funded by the Sarah Campbell Blaffer Foundation
Object number80.42
Current Location
The Nancy and Rich Kinder Building
Gallery 203
Exposé

Explore Further

Object Type
DescriptionA student of Hans Hofmann, Lee Krasner
was also profoundly engaged with the work
of Henri Matisse. She became acquainted
with his paintings during the 1930s, and the
1951–52 Matisse retrospective organized by
the Museum of Modern Art gave her further
opportunity to revisit his work. Blue and
Black
is both a tribute to and a break from
this influence, echoing the French painter’s
Moroccan series in particular. However, Krasner
pushes further into pure pattern and abstraction. Close examination also reveals traces of
colorful underpainting, documenting Krasner’s
deliberate process of reduction as she established her signature style.
Provenance[Marlborough-Gerson Gallery, New York]; [The Pace Gallery, New York]; [Janie C. Lee Gallery, Houston]; purchased by MFAH, 1980.
Exhibition History“Lee Krasner: Large Paintings,” Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, November 13,1973–January 6, 1974.

“Woman’s Work-American Art ’74,” Museum of the Philadelphia Civic Center, Philadelphia, April 28–May 26, 1974.

“5 Action Painters of the ‘50’s,” Pace Gallery, September 21–October 13, 1979.

"Krasner/Pollock, A Working Relationship," Guild Hall Museum, East Hampton, New York, August 8–October 4, 1981; Grey Art Gallery and Study Center, New York University, November 4–December 12, 1981.

"Modern American Paintings," Pinacotheque National Musee Alexandre Soutzos, Athens, September 20–November 7, 1982.

"Lee Krasner: A Retrospective," The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, October 27, 1983–January 8, 1984; Chrysler Museum, Norfolk, Virginia, 1984; Phoenix Art Museum, 1984; Museum of Modern Art, New York, December 20, 1984–February 12, 1985.

"Abstract Expressionism: The Critical Developments," Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, September 19–November 1987.

"America: Painting a Nation," Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia, November 8, 2013–February 9, 2014.

"Direction and Diversity: Twentieth Century Art in the Museum Collection,” The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, May 21–September 3, 1988.

"Lee Krasner - Jackson Pollack," Berner Kunstmuseum, Bern, Switzerland, November 24 1989–February 4, 1990.

"Texas Collects Willem de Kooning and His Contemporaries," The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, March 19–May 21, 1995.

"Modern and Contemporary Art: Spotlight on the Collection," The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, February 7–August 27, 2000.

"Art at Midcentury: Spotlight on the Collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston," The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, April 13–September 3, 2001.

"Action/Abstraction: Abstract Expressionism and Postwar America," The Jewish Museum, New York, May 4–September 21, 2008; Saint Louis Art Museum, Missouri, October 19, 2008–January 11, 2009; The Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York, February 13–June 16, 2009.

"Art Across America," National Museum of Korea, Seoul, Korea, February 4–May 19, 2013; Daejeon Museum of Art, Daejeon, Korea, June 17–September 1, 2013.
Catalogue raisonnéLandau, Ellen G. and Jeffrey D. Grove. Lee Krasner: A Catalogue Raisonné. New York: Abrams, 1995, no. 263, p. 128, illus. p. 129.

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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

Bird's Parasol
Lee Krasner
1964
Oil on canvas
2021.755
Red. Black. Calligraphic Painting
Catherine Lee
1978
Oil, India ink, matte medium, and graphite on canvas
2009.461
Opera West
Lee Mullican
1980
Oil and graphite on canvas
2007.178
Solstice Rider
Lee Mullican
1953
Oil on canvas
2007.177
In the Eye of Rebellion
Lee N. Smith III
1984
Oil on canvas
86.398
Red, White, and Blue
Pat Lipsky
2000–2001
Oil on canvas
2001.578
Blue Tide
Carl Morris
1961
Oil on canvas
64.7
The Blue Sun of a Spanish Summer
Corneille
1964
Oil on canvas
64.20
Correspondence:  Blue-Yellow
Leon Polk Smith
1963
Oil on canvas
98.245
Blue Red
Ellsworth Kelly
1965
Oil on canvas
2024.302
Double Dive Blue
Tunji Adeniyi-Jones
2023
Oil on canvas
2024.545
Blue Monolith
Hans Hofmann
1964
Oil on canvas
2004.23