31 Morris Louis Tzadik signed and inscribed "m. Louis #74" on the reverse acrylic resin (Magna) on canvas 90 1/2 x 140 1/2 in. (229.9 x 356.9 cm.) Executed in 1958.
Provenance André Emmerich Gallery, New York Park International, New York Lawrence Rubin Gallery, New York Paul Kasmin Gallery, London Private Collection, Toronto Exhibited Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Boston, Museum of Fine Arts; The St. Louis Art Museum, Morris Louis 1912–1962, February 15 - August 6, 1967, no. 19, p. 43 (illustrated) Toronto, David Mirvish Gallery, Morris Louis An Exhibition of Veils, September - October 1971 Toronto, David Mirvish Gallery, Morris Louis November - December 1973 Madrid, United States Embassy, September 1983 (on extended loan) New York, Mnuchin Gallery, Morris Louis Veils, September 10 - October 18, 2014, p. 32 (illustrated) New York, Paul Kasmin Gallery, Morris Louis/Landon Metz, March 3 - April 9, 2016 Literature Michael Fried, Morris Louis New York, 1970., pl. 50 (illustrated) Artscanada, October - November 1971, p. 76 (illustrated) Diane Upright, Morris Louis The Complete Paintings: A Catalogue Raisonné, New York, 1985, no. 160, pp. 80, 147 (illustrated) Daniel Rothbart, Jewish Metaphysics as Generative Principle in American Art, Naples, 1994, fig. 17 (illustrated) David Ebony, "Top 10 New York Gallery Shows for September," artnet, September 22, 2014 (online publication) Brook Mason, "In Colour: the Colour Field Movement's Past and Present Merge at Paul Kasmin," Wallpaper, March 4, 2016 (online publication) Catalogue Essay "The fabric, being soaked in paint rather than merely covered by it, becomes paint in itself, color in itself....." Clement Greenberg Morris Louis’ gift for color can be vividly seen in Tzadik, executed in 1958. Rendered in shades of green, orange, yellow and deep red, the composition emits an enveloping, subtle glow. Tzadik is a pristine example of Louis’ carefully achieved tonalities, which range in value from heightened saturation to diluted washes. Louis thinned the Magna paint with large amounts of turpentine, allowing it to flow effortlessly over the surface of the canvas; with each layer the pigments can be seen in their purest form. Louis’ brilliant hues, stained onto pure canvas, have defined his place in the narrative of Post-War American art. After a visit to Helen Frankenthaler's studio with his friend, fellow painter Kenneth Noland in 1953, Louis was captivated by Frankenthaler’s revolutionary staining technique. Clement Greenberg, who Louis met on the same occasion, encouraged him to expand his practice, leading to the production of his first significant series of works created between January and June of 1954. This series would come to be known as the Veil paintings and was rendered in Magna acrylic paint, which would become the artist’s exclusive medium. For Louis, the Veil paintings represented a complete artistic breakthrough; fluid waves of pigment wash over the canvas surface, as Greenberg describes how, "Louis spills his paint on unsized and unprimed cotton duck canvas, leaving the pigment almost everywhere thin enough, no matter how many different veils of it are superimposed, for the eye to sense the threadedness and wovenness of the fabric underneath. But 'underneath' is the wrong word. The fabric being soaked in paint rather than merely covered by it, becomes paint in itself, color in itself.” (Clement Greenberg quoted in Michael Fried, Morris Louis New York, 1970) The present lot stands as part of Louis’ second series of Veil paintings, marking out a maturation from the initial series. In contrast to the 1954 Veils, the 1958-1959 Veils were painted in a much larger format; Louis chose to increase the proportion of width to height, elongating the rectangular form. In the earlier series, Louis utilized primed canvases, making the support not as absorbent to the poured on pigments; in the 1958–1959 Veils he has transitioned to raw canvas, allowing the paint to seep fully into the grain of the material. Initiating his Veils with swathes of bright colors, he began in 1958 to use darker, thinned washes, which coupled with the underlying b
31 Morris Louis Tzadik signed and inscribed "m. Louis #74" on the reverse acrylic resin (Magna) on canvas 90 1/2 x 140 1/2 in. (229.9 x 356.9 cm.) Executed in 1958.
Provenance André Emmerich Gallery, New York Park International, New York Lawrence Rubin Gallery, New York Paul Kasmin Gallery, London Private Collection, Toronto Exhibited Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Boston, Museum of Fine Arts; The St. Louis Art Museum, Morris Louis 1912–1962, February 15 - August 6, 1967, no. 19, p. 43 (illustrated) Toronto, David Mirvish Gallery, Morris Louis An Exhibition of Veils, September - October 1971 Toronto, David Mirvish Gallery, Morris Louis November - December 1973 Madrid, United States Embassy, September 1983 (on extended loan) New York, Mnuchin Gallery, Morris Louis Veils, September 10 - October 18, 2014, p. 32 (illustrated) New York, Paul Kasmin Gallery, Morris Louis/Landon Metz, March 3 - April 9, 2016 Literature Michael Fried, Morris Louis New York, 1970., pl. 50 (illustrated) Artscanada, October - November 1971, p. 76 (illustrated) Diane Upright, Morris Louis The Complete Paintings: A Catalogue Raisonné, New York, 1985, no. 160, pp. 80, 147 (illustrated) Daniel Rothbart, Jewish Metaphysics as Generative Principle in American Art, Naples, 1994, fig. 17 (illustrated) David Ebony, "Top 10 New York Gallery Shows for September," artnet, September 22, 2014 (online publication) Brook Mason, "In Colour: the Colour Field Movement's Past and Present Merge at Paul Kasmin," Wallpaper, March 4, 2016 (online publication) Catalogue Essay "The fabric, being soaked in paint rather than merely covered by it, becomes paint in itself, color in itself....." Clement Greenberg Morris Louis’ gift for color can be vividly seen in Tzadik, executed in 1958. Rendered in shades of green, orange, yellow and deep red, the composition emits an enveloping, subtle glow. Tzadik is a pristine example of Louis’ carefully achieved tonalities, which range in value from heightened saturation to diluted washes. Louis thinned the Magna paint with large amounts of turpentine, allowing it to flow effortlessly over the surface of the canvas; with each layer the pigments can be seen in their purest form. Louis’ brilliant hues, stained onto pure canvas, have defined his place in the narrative of Post-War American art. After a visit to Helen Frankenthaler's studio with his friend, fellow painter Kenneth Noland in 1953, Louis was captivated by Frankenthaler’s revolutionary staining technique. Clement Greenberg, who Louis met on the same occasion, encouraged him to expand his practice, leading to the production of his first significant series of works created between January and June of 1954. This series would come to be known as the Veil paintings and was rendered in Magna acrylic paint, which would become the artist’s exclusive medium. For Louis, the Veil paintings represented a complete artistic breakthrough; fluid waves of pigment wash over the canvas surface, as Greenberg describes how, "Louis spills his paint on unsized and unprimed cotton duck canvas, leaving the pigment almost everywhere thin enough, no matter how many different veils of it are superimposed, for the eye to sense the threadedness and wovenness of the fabric underneath. But 'underneath' is the wrong word. The fabric being soaked in paint rather than merely covered by it, becomes paint in itself, color in itself.” (Clement Greenberg quoted in Michael Fried, Morris Louis New York, 1970) The present lot stands as part of Louis’ second series of Veil paintings, marking out a maturation from the initial series. In contrast to the 1954 Veils, the 1958-1959 Veils were painted in a much larger format; Louis chose to increase the proportion of width to height, elongating the rectangular form. In the earlier series, Louis utilized primed canvases, making the support not as absorbent to the poured on pigments; in the 1958–1959 Veils he has transitioned to raw canvas, allowing the paint to seep fully into the grain of the material. Initiating his Veils with swathes of bright colors, he began in 1958 to use darker, thinned washes, which coupled with the underlying b
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