Marsden Hartley
Abstraction

Public Domain

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Artist Marsden Hartley American, 1877–1943

CultureAmerican

Titles

Abstraction

Datec. 1914

PlaceUnited States

MediumOil on paperboard, mounted on panel

DimensionsPanel: 24 1/2 × 20 in. (62.2 × 50.8 cm)
Frame: 28 3/4 × 25 × 2 1/4 in. (73 × 63.5 × 5.7 cm)

Credit LineGift of Mr. and Mrs. Ralph O'Connor in honor of Mr. and Mrs. George R. Brown

Object number80.82

Current Location

The Nancy and Rich Kinder Building

Gallery 203

On view

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Department

American Art

Object Type

PAINTING

DescriptionWith the support and encouragement of gallerist Alfred Stieglitz, Marsden Hartley traveled to Paris in 1912. However, it was the Expressionists he befriended in Germany in 1913, and his amorous relationship with a Prussian officer named Karl von Freyburg, that propelled Hartley to create his most radical paintings. After von Freyburg was killed in battle in 1914, Hartley launched his series Intuitive Abstractions, alluding to his lover through the colors and geometric forms seen here, which echo von Freyburg’s military regalia.
Provenance Research Ongoing Exhibition HistoryMrs George R Brown, Houston, June 27, 1983.

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

"American Made: 250 Years of American Art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston," The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, July 6, 2012–December 31, 2012.

"Inventing Abstraction, 1912–1925," Museum of Modern Art, New York, December 23, 2012–April 15, 2013.

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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