Marsden Hartley
Abstraction

Public Domain

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Artist Marsden Hartley (American, 1877–1943)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

Not 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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