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Abstraction

Abraham Walkowitz

American Art

On View: American Art Galleries, 5th Floor, Counterparts
Abstraction evokes the entangled forms of two figures in an embrace using a Cubist language of faceted geometric shapes and patterned hatchings. Abraham Walkowitz probably took his inspiration from a drawing by Pablo Picasso that was exhibited at Alfred Stieglitz’s progressive 291 gallery in New York. Like many modernists, Walkowitz used the human figure as a vehicle for aesthetic experimentation.
MEDIUM Graphite on medium, cream, moderately textured, laid paper
DATES 1912
DIMENSIONS Sheet: 19 x 12 5/8 in. (48.3 x 32.1 cm)  (show scale)
MARKINGS Round stamp embossed at upper right: "STRATHMORE / PAPER" around thistle
SIGNATURE Signed in ink, lower right: "A. WALKOWITZ 1912"
COLLECTIONS American Art
ACCESSION NUMBER 39.655
CREDIT LINE Gift of the artist
PROVENANCE April 28, 1939, gift of the artist to the Brooklyn Museum.
Provenance FAQ
MUSEUM LOCATION This item is on view in American Art Galleries, 5th Floor, Counterparts
CAPTION Abraham Walkowitz (American, born Russia, 1878–1965). Abstraction, 1912. Graphite on medium, cream, moderately textured, laid paper, Sheet: 19 x 12 5/8 in. (48.3 x 32.1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the artist, 39.655 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 39.655_IMLS_PS3.jpg)
IMAGE overall, 39.655_IMLS_PS3.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph
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