Richard DiebenkornUntitled (Urbana Series)1952
1952
About the Item
- Creator:Richard Diebenkorn (1922-1993, American)
- Creation Year:1952
- Dimensions:Height: 13.875 in (35.25 cm)Width: 11 in (27.94 cm)
- Medium:
- Movement & Style:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:Palm Desert, CA
- Reference Number:
Richard Diebenkorn
Known for his gestural yet geometric depictions of American landscapes, Richard Diebenkorn blended Abstract Expressionism and figurative painting like no other artist before him.
Born in Portland, Oregon, but raised in San Francisco, California, Diebenkorn studied art history at Stanford University before enlisting in the Marines. Afterward, on the G.I. Bill, he enrolled at California School of Fine Arts (now San Francisco Art Institute) in 1946, where he became an instructor a year later. In 1950, he pursued a master’s degree at the University of New Mexico.
He lived and worked for a period during the postwar years in New York City, where he met Mark Rothko and immersed himself in Robert Motherwell’s art. However, the perspective that Diebenkorn brought to his paintings and prints was firmly rooted in the West Coast. His canvases, even when he worked in an abstract style, evoked California’s sandy coastlines and varied topography — one of the attributes that set him apart from contemporaries such as Willem de Kooning and Philip Guston.
Diebenkorn is acclaimed for his representational paintings; he was a founding member of the Bay Area Figurative movement, along with David Park and Elmer Bischoff. But he is best known for his lyrical abstract work. He explored abstraction during the 1950s before switching to figuration — creating still lifes and working with live models — and then returned to abstraction, developing a distinctive style that was entirely his own.
When Diebenkorn moved to Southern California, he began to teach at UCLA and commenced work on what would become his enduring “Ocean Park” series, named for the Santa Monica suburb he called home as of 1966 and inspired by the view from his studio — in particular, the light on the landscape outside the windows as framed by the windows themselves. The influence of Henri Matisse loomed large too. Diebenkorn had been an admirer of Matisse’s work since his days in the military, and in 1964, a trip to see the French painter’s work at the State Hermitage Museum in Leningrad proved monumental for him.
The “Ocean Park” series, created over the span of two decades, comprised more than 140 large paintings with gentle, shimmering compositions of color arranged in geometric harmony, with the texture of Diebenkorn’s constant reworking of the paint coming through.
“All paintings start out of a mood, out of a relationship with things or people, out of a complete visual impression,” Diebenkorn once said. Today, his work can be found in the collections of the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Phillips Collection, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and more.
Find authentic Richard Diebenkorn art on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Palm Desert, CA
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 7 days of delivery.
- Der Hafen von PlitBy Paul KleeLocated in Palm Desert, CA"Der Hafen von Plit" is a drawing by Paul Klee. The drawing is signed lower left, "Klee". The framed piece measures 25 1/4 x 30 1/2 x 1 3/8 in. Paul Klee was one of the most import...Category
1920s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
MaterialsInk, Laid Paper, Pen
- Wigwam rouge et jauneBy Alexander CalderLocated in Palm Desert, CA"Wigwam rouge et jaune" is a gouache on paper by Alexander Calder. The unique work is signed in the lower right, “Calder 65”. Although renowned for his innovative and groundbreaking...Category
1960s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
MaterialsPaper, Ink, Gouache
- Three Pyramids + Blue BallBy Alexander CalderLocated in Palm Desert, CA"Three Pyramids + Blue Ball" is a gouache on paper by Alexander Calder. The work is signed in the lower right, "Calder 73”. Although renowned for his innovative and groundbreaking sculptures, Alexander Calder started his artistic career as an abstract painter, preferring to use gouache. What is gouache? Gouache is a water-soluble paint – a type of opaque watercolor. As Calder returned to gouache painting towards the end of his life, he was now armed with a lifetime of experience as a sculptor. He explored the three-dimensional vocabulary of sculptural forms he had developed onto the two-dimensional surface of the paper. Certain shapes and colors recur throughout his gouaches and sculptures. Circles, ovals, and other geometric forms dominate the space. There is the same sense of energy and fluidity. The shapes do not sit on the surface but vibrate giving a feeling of movement in contrast to the static nature of painting. Like his sculpture, Calder’s gouache...Category
1970s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
MaterialsPaper, Ink, Gouache
- Two CrossesBy Alexander CalderLocated in Palm Desert, CA"Two Crosses" is a gouache on paper by Alexander Calder. The work is signed in the lower right, "Calder 65”. Although renowned for his innovative and groundbreaking sculptures, Alexander Calder started his artistic career as an abstract painter, preferring to use gouache. What is gouache? Gouache is a water-soluble paint – a type of opaque watercolor. As Calder returned to gouache painting towards the end of his life, he was now armed with a lifetime of experience as a sculptor. He explored the three-dimensional vocabulary of sculptural forms he had developed onto the two-dimensional surface of the paper. Certain shapes and colors recur throughout his gouaches and sculptures. Circles, ovals, and other geometric forms dominate the space. There is the same sense of energy and fluidity. The shapes do not sit on the surface but vibrate giving a feeling of movement in contrast to the static nature of painting. Like his sculpture, Calder’s gouache...Category
1960s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
MaterialsPaper, Ink, Gouache
- BobineBy Alexander CalderLocated in Palm Desert, CA"Bobine" is a gouache and ink on paper by Alexander Calder. The work is signed in the lower right "Calder 72". Although renowned for his innovative and groundbreaking sculptures, Alexander Calder started his artistic career as an abstract painter, preferring to use gouache. What is gouache? Gouache is a water-soluble paint – a type of opaque watercolor. As Calder returned to gouache painting towards the end of his life, he was now armed with a lifetime of experience as a sculptor. He explored the three-dimensional vocabulary of sculptural forms he had developed onto the two-dimensional surface of the paper. Certain shapes and colors recur throughout his gouaches and sculptures. Circles, ovals, and other geometric forms dominate the space. There is the same sense of energy and fluidity. The shapes do not sit on the surface but vibrate giving a feeling of movement in contrast to the static nature of painting. Like his sculpture, Calder’s gouache...Category
1970s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
MaterialsPaper, Ink, Gouache
- UntitledLocated in Palm Desert, CAA painting by Suh Se Ok (서세옥). An Untitled, abstract ink wash on paper painting by South Korean artist Suh Se Ok (서세옥), executed in a palette of pink and bla...Category
1960s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
MaterialsPaper, Ink
- 'Lily in Charcoal' abstract expressionism photography edition of 10Located in London, GB'Lily in Charcoal' 2023 From raw energy to sublime. 'Lily in Charcoal' is an expression piece combining an abstract charcoal drawing with a live lily emerging from a gash. The charc...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Expressionist Black and White Pho...
MaterialsPaper, Photographic Film, Charcoal, Archival Ink, Archival Paper
- Monotype of Abstract Rounded Type, Modern Shapes and Layers, Blue TonesLocated in Carballo, ESBlue Minimal Painting is an original artwork realized by TUSET in 2020. We can frame it in natural wood or black on request. The title of this works is "From the Apollonian pictori...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Expressionist Abstract Drawings a...
MaterialsInk, Handmade Paper
- Original ink on Paper, Contemporary Abstract ExpressionistLocated in Carballo, ESBlack And White Minimal Painting is an original artwork realized by TUSET in 2020. The painting is unframed, we can frame it in natural wood or black on request. The title of this ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Expressionist Abstract Drawings a...
MaterialsInk, Handmade Paper
- Contemporary blue painting on paper, Seascape, Abstract ExpressionistLocated in Carballo, ESThis is an original artwork unframed realized by TUSET in 2020. We can frame it in natural wood or black on request. Dimensions: 65 x 50 cm Original and unique piece 1/1. Includes ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Expressionist Abstract Drawings a...
MaterialsInk, Handmade Paper
- Original ink on Paper, Contemporary Landscape Botanic ExpressionistLocated in Carballo, ESBlack And White Minimal Painting is an original artwork realized by TUSET in 2020. We can frame it in natural wood or black on request. The title of this works is "From the Apollon...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Expressionist Abstract Drawings a...
MaterialsInk, Handmade Paper
- Original ink on Paper, 30 x 42 cm, Contemporary Painting, Minimalist Blue SeaLocated in Carballo, ESBlue Minimal Painting is an original artwork realized by TUSET in 2020. We can frame it in natural wood or black on request. The title of this works is "From the Apollonian pictori...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Expressionist Abstract Drawings a...
MaterialsInk, Handmade Paper
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
Penelope Gottlieb’s Comic-Style Painting Is a Requiem for a Vanished Flower
This piece may look like Pop art fun, but embedded within is a message of a planet on the brink.
10 Reasons Art Collectors Are Obsessed with Andy Warhol
More than three decades after his death, the prolific Pop artist and cultural icon's body of work continues to captivate. Here's a primer of some of his most notable motifs and mediums.