Painting Collection

Clyfford Still

Untitled (PH-440)

(1904—1980)
Untitled (PH-440)
1964
oil on canvas
114 1/2 x 160 inches

Clyfford Still was a major figure in Abstract Expressionism, a movement in which artists asserted their individuality through spontaneous and expressive methods of painting. In Untitled, one of his most mature works, Still's evocation of infinite space and inner light in mural scale canvas of restricted chromatic range links his work to the contemplative paintings of Rothko. At the same time, the jagged forms and mottled surfaces of the canvas share an appearance of improvisational gesture with the paintings of Jason Pollock. According to the artist himself, his works “are not paintings in the usual sense; they are life and death merging in the fearful union… Through them I… find my own revelation.”