.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
Painted in 1960, Alpha Beta is a stellar example of Morris Louis’s seminal Unfurled series, which the artist himself referred to “…as his most ambitious works” (J. Elderfield, Morris Louis, exh. cat., Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1986, p. 60). Louis’s oeuvre helped expand the discourse of contemporary art by linking Abstract Expressionism and Color Field Painting. As a founder of the Washington Color School, Louis experimented with color, form and composition in his paintings, and Alpha Beta epitomizes this investigation. Diane Upright described this series of work as his “most audacious, innovative, pictorial statement” (D. Upright, Morris Louis: The Complete Paintings (A Catalogue Raisonné), New York, 1985, p. 21). Further, distinguished curator John Elderfield emphasizes the importance of the Unfurled series, stating that, “these were the most radical, most extreme paintings to have been made since Pollock, Newman, and Still developed their characteristic styles. In many ways, these are more radical and extreme” (J. Elderfield, Morris Louis The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1986, p. 62).
In this particular canvas, two banks of diagonal rivulets of paint—in a vibrant color sequence of yellow, green, yellow—flow down from the upper corners of the rectangular canvas. Louis created each rivulet by directing pours of acrylic resin paint onto the raw, unprimed canvas, allowing them to run in towards the center of the composition, framing its untouched center. Louis was inventive both in his choice of working materials, and in his artistic methods—not only did he champion the use of Magna paint, but his technique of pouring pigment onto the canvas and allowing the paint to run naturally was a pioneering step away from gestural painting, characteristic of Abstract Expressionism.
While the colored banks on opposing sides of the canvas are not identical, and do not exactly mirror each other, their overall effect is one of balance and harmony. The work invites the viewer to examine the subtle differences between the seemingly symmetrical rivulets and meditate on the role of color, movement and negative space in the painting. Art critic Michael Fried highlights the uniqueness of this series of work: “the emphasis Louis places on the bare canvas in the Unfurleds, the sheer primacy he gives it, has no equivalent in the work of any other painter” (M. Fried, Morris Louis, New York, 1970, p. 33). Thus, Louis’s use of negative space has proven to be as stunning and impactful as his dynamic paint pours. In fact, curator John Elderfield suggests that, “THE MOST ASTONISHING, most radical feature of the Unfurleds is the sheer emptiness of their centers” (C. Greenberg, quoted in J. Elderfield, Morris Louise The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1986, p. 71).
Louis was a perfectionist who assured that each painting he produced was made using the highest quality of materials. In fact, it was with the Unfurled series that Louis switched to using a more porous and higher quality canvas which, “allowed the Magna to penetrate the canvas rapidly to produce the crisp contours so crucial to most of the Unfurleds” (D. Upright, Morris Louis: The Complete Paintings (A Catalogue Raisonné), New York, 1985, p. 56). In addition, Louis thinned out his Magna paint, which allowed him to pour his iconic bands of paint across the canvas with ease, all “while retaining the full saturation and intensity of the colors” (D. Upright, ibid., p. 57).
Alpha Beta hails from the collection of world-renowned architect and art collector I.M. Pei and has been included in many important exhibitions of the artist’s work. In 1967, the painting was exhibited at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in a show entitled Morris Louis: 1912–1962, which later traveled to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and the St. Louis Art Museum. In an exhibition review, art critic Philip Lieder described the monumental influence Louis’s paintings have on their viewers: “one senses, from the earliest Veils through the inspired triumph of the Unfurleds, an extravagance of ambition that seeks nothing short of majesty” (P. Lieder, “‘You may think you appreciate Morris Louis, but do you really?’,” New York Times, February 1967, p. 177). Alpha Beta was exhibited twice more—at the Washington, D.C. National Gallery of Art in 1976-1977 and at New York’s Museum of Modern Art in 1986-1987. Upon viewing Louis’s MoMA show, art historian and critic Michael Brenson detailed the impactful qualities of Louis’s work: “Throughout the show, his stains and rivulets of paint [were] complex and moving” (M. Brenson, “Art: Morris Louis Show,” New York Times, October 1986, p. 96).
Gaining notoriety in the midst of the Abstract Expressionist movement of the 1950s, Louis was inspired by fellow painter Helen Frankenthaler to push the boundaries of his methods, in particular, his use of materials and color. Working in vibrant hues, without a brush, Louis’s work bridged a transition between the gestural, spontaneous mark-making of Abstract Expressionism and the flat, vibrantly-colored and crisp designs of Color Field paintings. Michael Fried describes the ingenious of the Unfurled series, detailing how “Louis made major art out of what might be called the firstness of markings as such—a firstness prior to any act of marking, prior to individuation as a particular type of mark …One’s experience of the Unfurleds can be vertiginous. The banked rivulets—here again their vibrant, biting color is crucial—open up the picture-plane more radically than ever before, as though seeing the first marking we are for the first time shown the void. The dazzling blankness of the untouched canvas...like an infinite abyss...opens up behind the least mark we make on a plane surface” (M. Fried, Morris Louis, New York 1970, p. 33).
Alpha Beta is a singular work of art historical importance and a prime example of Louis’s unparalleled contributions to the Color Field movement and the Washington Color School. Further, the work is an outstanding example of his iconic Unfurled series, considered by many to be his most recognizable and influential body of work.
In this particular canvas, two banks of diagonal rivulets of paint—in a vibrant color sequence of yellow, green, yellow—flow down from the upper corners of the rectangular canvas. Louis created each rivulet by directing pours of acrylic resin paint onto the raw, unprimed canvas, allowing them to run in towards the center of the composition, framing its untouched center. Louis was inventive both in his choice of working materials, and in his artistic methods—not only did he champion the use of Magna paint, but his technique of pouring pigment onto the canvas and allowing the paint to run naturally was a pioneering step away from gestural painting, characteristic of Abstract Expressionism.
While the colored banks on opposing sides of the canvas are not identical, and do not exactly mirror each other, their overall effect is one of balance and harmony. The work invites the viewer to examine the subtle differences between the seemingly symmetrical rivulets and meditate on the role of color, movement and negative space in the painting. Art critic Michael Fried highlights the uniqueness of this series of work: “the emphasis Louis places on the bare canvas in the Unfurleds, the sheer primacy he gives it, has no equivalent in the work of any other painter” (M. Fried, Morris Louis, New York, 1970, p. 33). Thus, Louis’s use of negative space has proven to be as stunning and impactful as his dynamic paint pours. In fact, curator John Elderfield suggests that, “THE MOST ASTONISHING, most radical feature of the Unfurleds is the sheer emptiness of their centers” (C. Greenberg, quoted in J. Elderfield, Morris Louise The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1986, p. 71).
Louis was a perfectionist who assured that each painting he produced was made using the highest quality of materials. In fact, it was with the Unfurled series that Louis switched to using a more porous and higher quality canvas which, “allowed the Magna to penetrate the canvas rapidly to produce the crisp contours so crucial to most of the Unfurleds” (D. Upright, Morris Louis: The Complete Paintings (A Catalogue Raisonné), New York, 1985, p. 56). In addition, Louis thinned out his Magna paint, which allowed him to pour his iconic bands of paint across the canvas with ease, all “while retaining the full saturation and intensity of the colors” (D. Upright, ibid., p. 57).
Alpha Beta hails from the collection of world-renowned architect and art collector I.M. Pei and has been included in many important exhibitions of the artist’s work. In 1967, the painting was exhibited at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in a show entitled Morris Louis: 1912–1962, which later traveled to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and the St. Louis Art Museum. In an exhibition review, art critic Philip Lieder described the monumental influence Louis’s paintings have on their viewers: “one senses, from the earliest Veils through the inspired triumph of the Unfurleds, an extravagance of ambition that seeks nothing short of majesty” (P. Lieder, “‘You may think you appreciate Morris Louis, but do you really?’,” New York Times, February 1967, p. 177). Alpha Beta was exhibited twice more—at the Washington, D.C. National Gallery of Art in 1976-1977 and at New York’s Museum of Modern Art in 1986-1987. Upon viewing Louis’s MoMA show, art historian and critic Michael Brenson detailed the impactful qualities of Louis’s work: “Throughout the show, his stains and rivulets of paint [were] complex and moving” (M. Brenson, “Art: Morris Louis Show,” New York Times, October 1986, p. 96).
Gaining notoriety in the midst of the Abstract Expressionist movement of the 1950s, Louis was inspired by fellow painter Helen Frankenthaler to push the boundaries of his methods, in particular, his use of materials and color. Working in vibrant hues, without a brush, Louis’s work bridged a transition between the gestural, spontaneous mark-making of Abstract Expressionism and the flat, vibrantly-colored and crisp designs of Color Field paintings. Michael Fried describes the ingenious of the Unfurled series, detailing how “Louis made major art out of what might be called the firstness of markings as such—a firstness prior to any act of marking, prior to individuation as a particular type of mark …One’s experience of the Unfurleds can be vertiginous. The banked rivulets—here again their vibrant, biting color is crucial—open up the picture-plane more radically than ever before, as though seeing the first marking we are for the first time shown the void. The dazzling blankness of the untouched canvas...like an infinite abyss...opens up behind the least mark we make on a plane surface” (M. Fried, Morris Louis, New York 1970, p. 33).
Alpha Beta is a singular work of art historical importance and a prime example of Louis’s unparalleled contributions to the Color Field movement and the Washington Color School. Further, the work is an outstanding example of his iconic Unfurled series, considered by many to be his most recognizable and influential body of work.