Untitled (Composition in Red)
Artist
Piper Baltzell, Jane
(American, 1916 - 1991)
Date1942-1943
OriginUnited States of America
MediumOil on masonite
Dimensions28 × 36 in. (71.1 × 91.4 cm)
ClassificationsPainting
Credit LineGift of Carolyn K. and Richard F. Barry III
Object number2017.32
Label TextJane Piper Baltzell (American 1916–1991)
Untitled (Composition in Red)
Oil on masonite, about 1942–43
Gift of Carolyn K. and Richard F. Barry III
“I was always involved in spacial forms, which naturally lead you somewhat into
abstraction. You have to handle your responses to what you are seeing.”
~Jane Piper
This untitled painting, known as Composition in Red, is a decisive example of Jane Piper’s work. It was created at the beginning of her long career, and it already establishes the hallmarks of her oeuvre: an unwavering dedication to colorist abstraction, intricate compositions, and a focus on still lives. Right angles define the interlocking planes of bright color, bisected by floating, geometric lines.
Philadelphia-born, she was mentored by the abstract colorist Arthur B. Carles. Like her older contemporary, Quita Brodhead, she adopted color as the primary organizing principle in her paintings, harnessing color to create volume and rhythm in her compositions. Over time, vibrantly colored abstract shapes would oscillate on an increasingly white-hued canvas surface that later became her preferred background.
Status
On view
Buttersworth, Thomas
ca. 1835
