Items Similar to Untitled "D"
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 2
Al HeldUntitled "D"1961
1961
About the Item
Signed and dated 'Al Held 61' (lower right)
Price: $75,000 (+5% import VAT)
Provenance:
Robert Miller Gallery, New York (stock no.1179359 HELD-0075)
Private collection, New York
Private collection, New York (acquired from the above in 2012)
Exhibited:
New York, Queens Museum; Norfolk, Virginia, Chrysler Museum; Maine, Portland Museum of Art; Miami Beach, Bass Museum of Art; Washington, D.C., The Phillips Collection; Ohio, Dayton Art Institute & Massachusetts, Worcester Art Museum, After Matisse, 1986-88, pp.22 & 62, no. 14 (illustrated)
- Creator:Al Held (1928 - 2005, American)
- Creation Year:1961
- Dimensions:Height: 73 in (185.42 cm)Width: 42.38 in (107.65 cm)
- Medium:
- Movement & Style:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:London, GB
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU141429653012
Al Held
Alvin Jacob Held, (1928-2005) Al Held earned his slot in the annals of American contemporary art with his bold, geometric canvases that took abstraction to another level. His free-floating, interlocked cubes, and planes invited the viewer into a vertigo-inducing landscape that seemed to stretch on into infinity. "Immense architectural structures curve and slice through these complex paintings, often enmeshing themselves in cellular structures," noted the Times of London. "Viewers felt that they were exploring some mysterious universe, and Held never lost his passionate belief in abstract painting's ability to create a sublime new world."
Held grew up in Brooklyn, New York, and as a teenager, missed so many days of high school that it was suggested he consider leaving altogether. He eventually earned a night-school diploma, and spent two years in the U.S. Navy. Back in New York City, he enrolled in classes at the Art Students League, and went on to study at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière in Paris in the early 1950s. The first solo exhibition of his work was staged there, in 1952 at the Galerie Huit. Held's abstract work took on a more orderly, formal tone, aided by a switch from oil to acrylic paints in 1959, and he had his first solo show in New York City that same year at the Poindexter Gallery. "Finessing the gap between Minimalism and Color Field painting," wrote New York Times journalist Ken Johnson of the next decade of Held's career, "he produced smooth, simplified works based on enlarged letters of the alphabet. And in the late '60s and '70s he made complex black-and-white pictures of sharply outlined cubes, pyramids, and other geometric shapes floating in illusory spaces of indeterminate depth."
Some of Held's best-known works are those floating black and white cubes, a series he began in 1967. One of the largest, which stretches more than 90 feet in length, was installed at the Empire State Plaza in Albany, New York. In the late 1970s, in an abrupt shift, he began using color again, and the geometric shapes became so precise that they were sometimes mistaken for computer-generated art. Held considered his images not unlike those of religious art, once telling an interviewer that "historically, the priests and wise men believed that it was the artist's job to make images of heaven and hell believable, even though nobody had experienced these places," he said, according to his Chicago Tribune obituary.
Held spent 20 years teaching at Yale University's. Represented by the Robert Miller Gallery in New York City, which staged what would be his last exhibition of new work in 2003, Held's works were avidly sought by contemporary-art enthusiasts around the world, and were part of the permanent collections of many institutions, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art. — Carol Brennan
About the Seller
5.0
Recognized Seller
These prestigious sellers are industry leaders and represent the highest echelon for item quality and design.
Established in 2006
1stDibs seller since 2020
14 sales on 1stDibs
Typical response time: Several days
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: London, United Kingdom
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 14 days of delivery.
More From This SellerView All
- Untitled "A"By Al HeldLocated in London, GBPrice: $75,000 (+5% import VAT) Provenance: Robert Miller Gallery, New York Private collection, New York (acquired from the above in 1980) Exhibited: Montpellier, Musee Fabre, "...Category
1960s Abstract Expressionist Paintings
MaterialsAcrylic
- Fiery TouchLocated in London, GBsigned and dated (lower right) signed, dated and titled (on the verso)Category
2010s Abstract Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil, Acrylic
- Fiery touchBy Ivan TuretskyyLocated in London, GBsigned (lower right); signed, titled, dated and marked with the artist’s thumbprint (on the verso) PROVENANCE Portal 11 Art Gallery, Kiev, Ukraine (acquired from the artist)Category
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil, Acrylic
- Untitled with paint brushesBy ArmanLocated in London, GBInscribed on the reverse with the archive number C396 ARCH 274. perspex box: 217.5 x 176 x 13.2 cm. This work is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity.Category
20th Century More Art
MaterialsAcrylic
- Contrepoint Bleu VertLocated in London, GBsigned ‘A. Istrati’ (upper left); signed, dated and titled ‘contrepoint bleu vert, Istrati A., 1989’ (on the verso)Category
20th Century Abstract Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil
- Mathieu Matégot - Sans titre, tapestry, french, modern, abstract, wool, designBy Mathieu MatégotLocated in London, GBMathieu Matégot (1910-2001) Sans titre c.1950s wool tapestry, Manufactura de Tapeçarias de Portalegre 150 x 70 cm signed ‘Matégot’ and with the Manufactura de Tapeçarias de Portalegre monogram (lower right) Price: $11,000 USD Provenance: Barry Friedman Ltd, New York (stock no. BF21324) Notes: Mathieu Matégot was a Hungarian-born French designer, architect and artist. After studying at Budapest's School of Fine Arts in 1929, Matégot travelled across Italy and the USA until settling in Paris in 1931 where he worked as a set designer, window dresser and tapestry maker. Matégot volunteered for the French resistance at the start of the Second World War, only to be captured by the Nazis. A dreadful fate for most, however, it was during his time as a prisoner of war that the artist discovered metalworking techniques (such as Rigitulle) which he later patented and became renowned for. Upon his release, Matégot was awarded French citizenship. After the war, the artist's interest in tapestry was renewed after being introduced to contemporary tapestry revivalist, Jean Lurçat. However, in order to make ends meet, Matégot pursued furniture design; he established a workshop in Paris and dedicated his time to translating the groundbreaking metal techniques into popular handcrafted objects. In 1959, Matégot abandoned furniture design and focused exclusively on his passion for abstract tapestries. He continued his work as a pioneer of French Modern tapestry...Category
1950s Abstract More Art
MaterialsTapestry
You May Also Like
- R. Poch Drinks Figures Colors Cat original acrylic paintingBy Ramon PochLocated in CORAL GABLES - MIAMI, FL63 Drinks. figures. colors. cat original acrylic painting Born in Badalona (Barcelona). Photographer and advertising film director. Founding partner of the advertising production...Category
2010s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Paintings
MaterialsAcrylic
- Ramon Poch Character Black Cat. original acrylic paintingBy Ramon PochLocated in CORAL GABLES - MIAMI, FL1.-Ramon Poch. Character. black cat 115 x90 cm. acrylic painting Born in Badalona (Barcelona). Photographer and advertising film director. Founding partner of the advertising prod...Category
2010s Abstract Expressionist Animal Paintings
MaterialsAcrylic
- Abstract Expresionist Pop Surrealist Portrait With Smileys "Currency #191"By Natasha LelencoLocated in FISTERRA, ESThis piece is one of the most recent and belongs to the "Exchange Currency Series" created by Natasha Lelenco in 2024. It originates from the concept of the "face" on coins. It is a ...Category
2010s Abstract Expressionist Mixed Media
MaterialsMetal
- 'Show Me the Money: Ultra Luxury Edition, ' by XVALA, Mixed Media PaintingBy XVALALocated in Oklahoma City, OKThis large 119" x 72" mixed media painting by the artist, XVALA, is from his series 'Pandemic Collection: 8' and depicts bright colorful cartoon chara...Category
2010s Abstract Expressionist Figurative Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Oil Crayon, Screen
- JP TP : abstract expressionist work of artLocated in New York, NYAbstract expressionist work of art by Joseph Hicks. Joseph Hicks’s works are bright and colorful, full of life and creativity. His canvases are full of energy and dynamism due to t...Category
2010s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil Crayon, Mixed Media, Acrylic
- Burning Bush from Jerusalem SeriesBy Theodoros StamosLocated in New York, NYBurning Bush, 1989, by Theodoros Stamos (1922-1987) Acrylic on canvas 66 x 50 inches unframed (167.64 x 127 cm) Inscribed (Infinity Field Jerusalem Series...Category
Late 20th Century Abstract Expressionist Abstract Paintings
MaterialsAcrylic