Sol LeWitt
While New York City’s art scene in the 1950s and ’60s revolved around Abstract Expressionism, multidisciplinary artist Sol LeWitt paved an alternative path, creating a prolific output of work in the genres of minimalism and, later, Conceptual art.
While LeWitt is perhaps best known for his immense “wall drawings,” he created work in a wide range of media, including drawing, painting, printmaking and sculpture. (However, in a characteristic rebuttal of canonical art history, he referred to these pieces as “structures.”) He also produced several texts, including the seminal Sentences on Conceptual Art (1969).
Born in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1928, LeWitt received a BFA from Syracuse University before going to work as a graphic designer for the renowned architect I.M. Pei. He would later work at the book counter at the Museum of Modern Art, where his colleagues included fellow artists. LeWitt’s early exposure to architecture may well have had outsize influence on his subsequent career: He was known for the geometric nature of his work, specifically his fastidious, near-obsessive treatment of the cube, which he rendered repeatedly in various ways throughout his paintings, structures and wall drawings.
In the 1960s, LeWitt showed in several group exhibitions throughout New York and also began to experiment with three-dimensional structures, most modular riffs on the cube shape. His work was included in “Working Drawings and Other Visible Things on Paper Not Necessarily Meant to Be Viewed as Art,” curated by Mel Bochner, another leading exponent of Conceptualism.
Later, LeWitt debuted his now-iconic wall drawings, creating work directly on the walls of galleries and show spaces, beginning with pioneering gallerist Paula Cooper’s inaugural show in 1968. The wall drawings became a prime example of LeWitt’s philosophical approach to art, with their installation often carried out by museum staff or curators following precise instructions from the artist.
“The idea,” the artist once said, “becomes a machine that makes the art.” LeWitt continued to produce work until his death in 2007.
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Early 2000s Sol LeWitt
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1970s Sol LeWitt
Etching
1990s Sol LeWitt
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Early 2000s Conceptual Sol LeWitt
Linocut
1970s Sol LeWitt
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1970s American Minimalist Vintage Sol LeWitt
Aluminum
20th Century Abstract Geometric Sol LeWitt
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21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Sol LeWitt
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1990s Abstract Sol LeWitt
Gouache
1970s Minimalist Sol LeWitt
Lithograph
1970s Minimalist Sol LeWitt
Offset
Late 20th Century Sol LeWitt
Paper, Gouache
Late 20th Century Sol LeWitt
Paper, Gouache
Late 20th Century Sol LeWitt
Paper, Gouache
1990s Abstract Sol LeWitt
Tempera
1990s Minimalist Sol LeWitt
Ink, Postcard
1980s Minimalist Sol LeWitt
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1990s Abstract Sol LeWitt
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1990s Contemporary Sol LeWitt
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1990s Contemporary Sol LeWitt
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Early 2000s Minimalist Sol LeWitt
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1990s Minimalist Sol LeWitt
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1990s Minimalist Sol LeWitt
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1990s Minimalist Sol LeWitt
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2010s Italian Minimalist Sol LeWitt
Ceramic
1990s Contemporary Sol LeWitt
Color, Screen
1990s Abstract Geometric Sol LeWitt
Paper, Gouache
1990s Abstract Sol LeWitt
Paper, Gouache
Early 2000s Abstract Sol LeWitt
Paper, Gouache
1970s Minimalist Sol LeWitt
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1970s Minimalist Sol LeWitt
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1970s Minimalist Sol LeWitt
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1970s Minimalist Sol LeWitt
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1970s Minimalist Sol LeWitt
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1970s Minimalist Sol LeWitt
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1970s Minimalist Sol LeWitt
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1970s Minimalist Sol LeWitt
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21st Century and Contemporary American Minimalist Sol LeWitt
Walnut
2010s Italian Minimalist Sol LeWitt
Ceramic
2010s Italian Minimalist Sol LeWitt
Ceramic
1990s Sol LeWitt
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Early 2000s Minimalist Sol LeWitt
Monotype
Early 2000s Abstract Sol LeWitt
Paper, Gouache
1990s Color-Field Sol LeWitt
Paper, Etching
1970s Abstract Geometric Sol LeWitt
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20th Century Contemporary Sol LeWitt
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19th Century Contemporary Sol LeWitt
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20th Century Contemporary Sol LeWitt
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20th Century Contemporary Sol LeWitt
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1990s Minimalist Sol LeWitt
Etching
Early 2000s Abstract Geometric Sol LeWitt
Etching, Aquatint, Lithograph
Early 2000s Abstract Geometric Sol LeWitt
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1990s Abstract Geometric Sol LeWitt
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1990s Abstract Geometric Sol LeWitt
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20th Century Modern Sol LeWitt
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20th Century Minimalist Sol LeWitt
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1980s Minimalist Sol LeWitt
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1990s Abstract Sol LeWitt
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1990s Abstract Sol LeWitt
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1990s Abstract Sol LeWitt
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Sol LeWitt art for sale on 1stDibs
Artists Similar to Sol LeWitt
- 1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2022Sol LeWitt was an American artist who experimented in different forms of art, including sculpture, painting and drawing. What he’s probably best known for is his conceptual art and his belief that the idea of art itself was art. He thought that the conception of the idea was the artists, but the production of the art could be done by anyone, or not done at all. On 1stDibs, find a variety of original artwork from top artists.
- 1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2022Sol LeWitt said that in conceptual art, the idea behind the art was at least as, if not more, important than what the finished work was. Some of the American artist's most famous works include Wall Drawing N.804, Brushstrokes and Lines in Four Directions. Find a collection of Sol LeWitt art on 1stDibs.