- 121
Adolph Gottlieb
Description
- Adolph Gottlieb
- Drift
- signed, titled and dated 1961 on the reverse
- oil on canvas
- 72 by 48 in. 182.9 by 121.9 cm.
Provenance
Acquired by the present owner from the above in 1963
Exhibited
Paris, Centre Culturel Américain, De A à Z 1963: 31 Peintures Américains Choisis Par The Art Institute of Chicago, May - June 1963, pl. 6, illustrated
London, Tate Gallery, Painting and Sculpture of a Decade 54-64, April - June 1964, p. 95, illustrated
University of Chicago, David and Alfred Smart Gallery, Abstract Expressionism: A Tribute to Harold Rosenberg, October - November 1979, cat. no. 14, pl. 4, p. 27, illustrated
Literature
Condition
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.
Catalogue Note
This work’s format, so elemental yet so profound, allowed Gottlieb to fully express his prodigious command of gesture and color. He is considered one of the first color field painters and is one of the forerunners of Lyrical Abstraction, as well as one of the most influential members of the New York school, a pioneer of Abstract Expressionism. With Drift, Gottlieb conveyed his prodigious command of gesture and color that he had honed over several decades of concentrated engagement with painting.
The powerful brushwork evokes a strong emotion from the simple shapes, as the objects appear to orbit each other throbbing with energy. The two floating circular discs hover above a large mass of thick paint near the canvas’ lower edge. With these forms, Gottlieb generates an elemental tension between them that is virtually electric. The composition radiates with an intensity that exceeds their physical boundaries, emitting a sense of imminent movement and expansion. Like Rothko, the edges of Gottlieb’s color fields offer some of the most scintillating passages in his paintings, such as the lively trickles of paint dancing around the weighty central expanse.