Ernest Dieringer
Color is Life — Mid-Century Abstract Expressionism
1959

About the Item

Ernest A. Dieringer, Untitled ('Color is Life'), watercolor, 1959. Initialed 'ED' and dated ' '59' in red pencil at the top and bottom sheet edges—the artist's indication that the work can be viewed from either side. Signed 'Dieringer' in pencil, in the bottom support board margin. A fine abstract expressionist work; watercolor on white wove paper, with fresh, bright colors; the image extending to the sheet edges, spot glued to the original cream wove backing board, in very good condition. Image size 9 x 10 15/16 inches; backing board size 13 1/2 x 16 3/4 inches. Archivally matted to museum standards, unframed. Provenance: ex. Collection Alexander Raydon. The collector/dealer's well-known 'Raydon Gallery' was established in 1962 on 82nd Street and Madison Avenue, New York City. ABOUT THE ARTIST Ernest Dieringer studied at the Art Institute of Chicago on a National Scholastic Scholarship, beginning his career with the Chicago-based Wells Street Gallery in 1957. He showed his work with other abstract artists, including Robert Natkin and John Chamberlain. The gallery was considered a vanguard space in Chicago for exhibiting emerging abstract artists from the surrounding area. Artists associated with the gallery eventually became known as the Wells Street Group. Due to the success of the gallery, Dieringer and other group members were invited by the Manhattan-based contemporary art dealer Elin Poindexter to join her gallery in the 1960s. Beginning in 1962, Poindexter exhibited Dieringer in six one-person shows. Dieringer’s work was exhibited in numerous group and one-person shows, including the Art Institute of Chicago, 1955, '56, '57; Hyde Park Art Center, 1959; Montana Historical Society, 1961; Contemporary Arts Association (Houston); Dayton Art Institute, 1964; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, traveling exhibition, 1964; New England Annual (abstract painting award); Greenwich Art Center 1973. Dieringer's work was shown with the preeminent non-objective artists of the mid-20th-century, including Willem de Kooning, Helen Frankenthaler, Ellsworth Kelly, and Frank Stella. The artist's work is held in the collections of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and the Whitney Museum of American Art.

Creator:

Ernest Dieringer (American)

Creation Year:

1959

Dimensions:

Height: 9 in (22.86 cm)Width: 10.94 in (27.79 cm)

Medium:

Watercolor

Movement & Style:

Abstract Expressionist

Period:

1950-1959