Betty Parsons
Maine 2

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Artist Betty Parsons(American, 1900–1982)American, 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

Not on view

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Department

Modern and Contemporary Art

Object Type

PAINTING

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]

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Catalogue raisonnéA catalogue raisonné is in process and Maine 2 will be included.

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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