Franz Kline
Orange and Black Wall

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Artist Franz Kline (American, 1910–1962)American, 1910–1962

CultureAmerican

Titles

Orange and Black Wall

Date1959

PlaceNew York, United States

MediumOil on canvas

Dimensions66 3/4 × 144 1/2 in. (169.5 × 367 cm)

Credit LineBequest of Caroline Wiess Law

Object number2004.27

Current Location

The Nancy and Rich Kinder Building

Gallery 203

On view

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Department

Modern and Contemporary Art

Object Type

PAINTING

DescriptionIn 1952 the critic Harold Rosenberg observed,
“At a certain moment the canvas began to
appear to one American painter after another
as an arena in which to act—rather than a
space in which to reproduce.” He could have
been describing the work of Franz Kline, whose
forceful abstractions, including Orange and
Black Wall, embodied Rosenberg’s concept of
Action Painting. Although the composition
seems to have been executed in an improvisatory spirit, Kline actually worked it up
with care, as he pitted the hot colors on the
right against the cooler structures of black,
white, and green.
ProvenanceThe artist; [Sidney Janis Gallery, New York]; Mr. and Mrs. Robert C. Scull, New York; [Sotheby Parke Bernet, Sale October 28, 1973, lot 21];Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection, Lugano, Switzerland; Deal Collection, Dallas; [C&M Arts, New York]; purchased by Caroline Wiess Law, Houston, February 1996, until d. 2003; bequeathed to MFAH, 2004.

Exhibition History"Franz Kline Memorial Exhibition," Washington Gallery of Modern Art, Washington, D.C.; October 30–December 27, 1962, cat. no. 79.

"Franz Kline," Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; September 20–October 20, 1963, cat. no. 52.

"Franz Kline," Galleria Civica d'Arte Moderna, Turin, November 5–December 1, 1963, cat. no. 52.

"Franz Kline: a retrospective exhibition," Whitechapel Gallery, London in association with the Museum of Modern Art, New York, May–June 1964, cat. no. 51.

"Franz Kline 1910-1962," Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; October 1–November 24, 1968; Dallas Museum of Art, December 17–January 26, 1969; San Francisco Museum of Art, February 21–March 30, 1969; Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, April 12–May 25, 1969, cat. no. 70.

"Franz Kline: The Color Abstractions," The Phillips Collection, Washington, DC, February 17–April 8, 1979; Institute for the Arts, Rice University, Houston, May 4–July 1, 1979; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, July 17–September 9, 1979; Seattle Art Museum, September 27–November 25, 1979, cat. no. 8.

"Modern and Contemporary Masterworks from the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston," The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, December 8, 2007–March 2, 2008.

Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks

Signed in the lower right: "KLINE" and on the upper center towards the right on the reverse: "Franz Kline 1959"

Back labels:
"THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART / ...NEW YORK / FRANZ KLINE / ...LENDER'S NAME Mr. Robert Scull, New York. / MUSEUM NO. 63.1053 BOX NO. 14"

WHITNEY MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART / ...N.Y. 10021 / ...Catalog No. 70 / Lender Mr. and Mrs. Robert C. ...(paper label torn/missing) / Exhibition: Franz Kline Retrospective / ...OCTOBER...(label torn/missing)"

(unidentified source) "FRANZ KLINE / ... (ARO7-230, CMP07 - 230A)"

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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