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Lot Essay
Lee Krasner's Untitled (The Mouse Trap), 1949 is a visual tour de force. Blue, red, green and yellow skeins of paint are intricately interwoven and united by an overall net of white creating a virtuoso surface. The work's title refers to an incident that took place at The Springs in 1949 but it is also aptly titled for its hypnotic appeal.
John Bernard Myers collaborated with Krasner often by naming her paintings. This particular work's name came about in a curious fashion as he recounted, "We were sitting in the kitchen; her husband, Jackson Pollock was with us, when suddenly a wood rat scampered into the room. Pollock grabbed a broom; the rat headed toward the doorway to the living room, across which was placed the painting we had been looking at. The painting stopped the creature, down came the broom, and the rat was exterminated. I was reminded of a picture Meyer Schapiro had lectured on, a 15th century triptych called The Mouse Trap, by Robert Campin. It had something to do with Christ and the trapping of souls. Since it wasn't a big rat we decided 'mouse' would be more appropriate for the title. Perhaps the picture would 'trap' the imagination of viewers" (J. B. Meyers quoted in E. Landau, Lee Krasner: A Catalogue Raisonn©, New York, 1995, p. 114).
John Bernard Myers collaborated with Krasner often by naming her paintings. This particular work's name came about in a curious fashion as he recounted, "We were sitting in the kitchen; her husband, Jackson Pollock was with us, when suddenly a wood rat scampered into the room. Pollock grabbed a broom; the rat headed toward the doorway to the living room, across which was placed the painting we had been looking at. The painting stopped the creature, down came the broom, and the rat was exterminated. I was reminded of a picture Meyer Schapiro had lectured on, a 15th century triptych called The Mouse Trap, by Robert Campin. It had something to do with Christ and the trapping of souls. Since it wasn't a big rat we decided 'mouse' would be more appropriate for the title. Perhaps the picture would 'trap' the imagination of viewers" (J. B. Meyers quoted in E. Landau, Lee Krasner: A Catalogue Raisonn©, New York, 1995, p. 114).